Australian ANZ job advertisements fall further with no signs of immediate recovery

Australian ANZ job advertisements fell by a further 1.7 percent m/m in March, to be down 6 percent Y/Y and in trend terms, job ads were flat for the month and on a Y/Y basis fell by 3.4 percent.

Job ads are not showing any signs of reversing the weakness seen for some time. The signal coming from ANZ Job Ads is in complete contrast to that coming from job vacancies, which continue to reach record highs.

"We think the divergence may reflect changes in the way firms search for employees, with more possibly directing job seekers to their own websites rather than advertising broadly for every position," said David Plank, ANZ’s head of Australian Economics.

If this is the case, then the divergence reflects a structural shift in ANZ Job Ads rather than signalling a weaker job market. Recent strength in business conditions and job vacancies suggest that the labour market will remain resilient despite weaker job ads, he added.