ANZ-Indeed Job Ads: marginal decline in April
ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads declined by 0.3% m/m in April following a downwardly revised 2.7% m/m fall in March. In trend terms, the monthly decline slowed to 1.1% m/m. ANZ-Indeed Job Ads is still 52.5% higher than pre-pandemic and, absent a major shock, seems unlikely to fall back to historical levels any time soon.
ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch said: "ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads edged down slightly in April to be 7.7% lower than the September 2022 peak. But the level remains very high, signalling significant unfilled labour demand, and is consistent with solid employment gains. Employment surged by almost 117k over February and March, keeping the unemployment rate steady at 3.5%.
"The high volume of unfilled labour demand was also evident in NAB’s Q1 business survey which showed 87% of firms reported labour was a constraint on output, only slightly below the peak of 91% in Q3 2022. Robust labour demand coupled with strong migration will continue to support employment growth."
Indeed Senior Economist, Callam Pickering said: "Although ANZ-Indeed Job Ads has fallen to its lowest level since January last year, the volume of jobs created has still been sufficient to absorb a high level of net migration. Labour demand remains robust nationally, with particular strength noted among graduate recruitment. Graduate-related job ads were 24% higher during the first quarter, compared with a year earlier.
"While job ads have fallen across every state in recent months, they remain higher in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia than a year ago, partially offsetting larger declines in New South Wales and Victoria."