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Staff Reporter
The number of job advertisements fell for the third month in a row, according to the latest data from ANZ.
There were 1.2 per cent fewer job advertisements in June, which followed a 2.6 per cent fall in May, the most recent ANZ Job Advertisement Series report revealed.
The number of internet job advertisements fell 1.1 per cent in June, after falling 2.6 per cent in May. Internet job advertisements were 8.5 per cent below year earlier levels in June, and have now fallen for three consecutive months.
However, newspaper advertising has risen for the past three months, in trend terms, in NSW and South Australia.
ANZ senior economist Justin Fabo said companies were reluctant to hire staff in the poor economic conditions.
“Recent trends in job advertising suggest that there has been a mild softening in labour demand in Australia after it had strengthened somewhat in the early part of the year," he said.
“In part, this likely reflects hesitation among some firms to hire additional staff in the face of heightened uncertainty about the global economy again in recent months, particularly in Europe."
“It is also likely to show the pressure on profitability that some firms are experiencing, for a range of reasons, and may be an early signal that businesses are turning their attention to improving productivity."
He also noted that the official labour market data for June will be made available later this week.
“The unemployment rate has trended modestly lower since October last year and employment growth has improved a little in recent months," he said.
“Despite this modest improvement, labour market conditions remain relatively soft overall, as evidenced by rising underemployment and an increase in the number of Australians receiving unemployment benefits.
“While the recent decline in job advertisements suggests that labour market outcomes could be a little soft in the near term, we do not expect a rapid or significant deterioration in conditions going forward."
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