Job advertisements in Australia declined by 6.1% year-on-year in May 2023 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ANZ-Indeed Job Ads data published on ANZ Bank.

On a month-on-month basis, the number of job ads rose slightly by 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis. In trend terms, the number of job ads declined 0.7% over the month in May. Job ads remain 51.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels, the data showed.

Indeed Senior Economist, Callam Pickering said, “Since the beginning of the year, job ads have declined across three-quarters of the occupational sectors Indeed analysed. The largest falls have been in cleaning & sanitation and food preparation & service, both down by around 30%, ahead of beauty & wellness. Opportunities in retail and tech have also declined considerably.”

Pickering added, “The decline in job ads has been concentrated in Victoria and New South Wales. However, despite lower job volumes this year, recruitment overall remains challenging with talent shortages widespread, even among those sectors where job ads have fallen.”

ANZ Economist, Madeline Dunk said, “ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads bucked its recent downward trend, with a small rise in May. While job ads are 8.0% lower than the September peak, the level remains very high, signalling strong demand for workers.”

Dunk noted that employment in Australia rose by 108,000 people in the three months to April, and hours worked has lifted in 2023.

“But the path forward appears to be headed in one direction,” Dunk said. “The unemployment rate rose to 3.7% in April, and the NAB Business Survey’s employment indicator has fallen recently. Strong migration and solid demand should limit the pace of declines in ANZ-Indeed job ads, and subsequently the rise in the unemployment rate.”

ANZ Bank’s job ads data is based on information provided by the operators of the following sites: Indeed (au.indeed.com); 2018-ongoing; Workforce Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (workforceaustralia.gov.au) and previous iterations; 1999-ongoing; Seek (seek.com.au); 1999-2022; and newspaper job ads; 1975-2018.