Looking more broadly, job ads are down 8.4% nationally compared to last year, but the average advertised salary is up. Find out more on how the year is wrapping up in this month’s employment market snapshot.
Public sector providing job opportunities
Across the sectors, Community Services & Development leads with the highest job ad growth; new job ads are up 14.6% on November 2018. This is followed by Healthcare & Medical with 5.0% growth, and Education & Training with a 3.0% increase.
Kendra Banks, Managing Director, SEEK ANZ says top three sectors contributing to job ad growth are posting near record-high job ad volumes.
“Although we’re nearing the end of the year, these sectors continue to offer many opportunities for job seekers,” Banks says. “For example, Education & Training has a strong demand for secondary and primary teachers, and childcare and after school carers.
“The Healthcare and Medical sector is showing demand for general practitioners, aged care nurses and psychologists, counsellors and social workers. We anticipate this demand will continue into the new year.”
Job ads down year-on-year
Nationally, job ads have again shown decline – advertised jobs are down 8.4% compared to November 2018.
SEEK employment analyst Adama Abanteriba says the summer holiday period is typically a quieter time for hiring activity. “People have their minds on holidays so from a hiring activity point of view there is a seasonal drop off, especially with the number of leave days and holidays coming up before it jumps back in January.” However, casual and vacation roles have seen a seasonal lift in hiring activity, Abanteriba says.
Looking at salary, growth has continued. The average advertised salary across Australia, $88,418, is up 2.1% on November 2018. Each state and territory has seen salary growth, with the Australian Capital Territory leading the way – its average salary of $91,958 is up 4.7% year on year, followed by Tasmania with 3.0% growth and an average of $79,804.
Industries showing salary growth include Insurance & Superannuation with an 8.1% increase, Information & Communication Technology at 4.4%, Retail & Consumer Products with a 4.2% increase, and Banking & Financial Services at 4.1%.
Across the nation
Job ad volumes have grown in a few parts of the country – in ACT job ads are up 2.3% year on year, followed by Tasmania with 1.7% growth and Western Australia at 1.2%.
Banks notes there has been some encouraging growth coming out of regional areas.
“This is particularly evident in Western Australia where Albany, Great Southern, Bunbury are posting double digit monthly job ad growth. Northam and the Wheatbelt are also showing good job opportunities. Healthcare and Medical and Mining, Resources and Energy appear to be the industries driving the opportunities”.
The remaining states and territories, including New South Wales and Victoria, posted declines. “When we look at our state-by-state breakdown we see declining ad volume in the large employing states as they come down from historically high levels,” Banks says. “There is still a huge number of employment opportunities across NSW with over 40,000 listed in Sydney right now and in Victoria over 33,000 job opportunities in Melbourne.”
