Job ads on job board Seek Australia were up by 56.7% in September 2021 when compared to September 2020 and up 24.7% when compared to September 2019.

Seek job ads were up 6.0% month-on-month, the first month-on-month growth since April 2021. Applications per job ad declined slightly by 0.8% over the month.

Kendra Banks, Managing Director, Seek ANZ, said, “The Covid-19 roadmap announcements in New South Wales and Victoria have encouraged businesses to move ahead with rehiring and preparing for the summer holiday period.”

“In New South Wales, job ads increased by more than 20% (20.6%), with roles in Hospitality & Tourism jumping by 130% month-on-month,” Banks continued. “Factors contributing to this growth include replacing roles which were lost, preparing for the end of restrictions, and getting ready for the summer holiday period.”

Year-on-year, the biggest growth was seen in Tasmania (66.0%), followed by Queensland (55.9%) and South Australia (55.7%). Against the same period in 2019, the biggest growth was also seen in Tasmania (76.1%).

Seek noted that the industries that were impacted the hardest in August are the industries that have shown significant growth in September, particularly customer-facing roles.

Banks said, “As we have seen throughout the whole course of the pandemic, as soon as restrictions begin to ease, customer-facing roles return quickly to site. A trend throughout the pandemic is that the industries impacted the hardest can also be the first to bounce back.”

“For example, job ads in Retail & Consumer Products dropped 8.9% nationally in August but grew 20.6% in September. Hospitality & Tourism job ads dropped 19.0% in August and increased by 28.5% in September,” Banks said. “There are positive signs across all industries, with job ad volumes increasing in hospitality, tourism, retail and trades & services.”