Job advertisements in Australia fell by 18.1% year-on-year in May 2024 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ANZ-Indeed job ads data published on ANZ Bank.

ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads fell 2.1% month-on-month in May. In trend terms, the series declined 1.9% month-on-month. While ANZ-Indeed Job Ads has fallen 23.9% from its peak in November 2022, the series is still up 20.5% above pre-pandemic levels (2019 average).

ANZ noted that its May data contains revisions to the data from February 2024 following the identification of a structural break in an input to the series.

Indeed Senior Economist, Callam Pickering said in a press release, “In May, the decline in ANZ-Indeed job ads was relatively broad-based, with the largest subtractions coming from Victoria and Western Australia. The annual fall has been concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria, with more minor declines across the rest of Australia. Accounting and construction job ads subtracted the most from national job ads in May, which offset some strength in education and for nurses. Overall, job ads are down in around 90% of occupational categories over the past year.”

ANZ Economist Madeline Dunk added, “The (revised) ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads series shows a softening over 2024, with an 8.2% fall since the end of last year. Other data also show the labour market is cooling, but only gradually.”

ANZ’s 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).