Job market slowdown intensifies as advertisements continue to slide

The news: Job advertisements have slipped for the fifth consecutive month in a row with the decline picking up pace.

The numbers: The ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads index slipped 2.2% in June. This is a 25.8% drop since the peak in June 2022, but remains almost 18% above pre-pandemic levels.

On a quarterly basis, the series is down 7.1% in the three months to June compared to a 3% decline over the March quarter. This indicates an intensifying slowdown in the jobs market.

The context: The labour market has started to loosen as the economy cools and interest rates remain at relatively high levels to tackle inflation. This is another sign of the slowdown underway, however the job market remains resilient.

Over the month, the index showed conditions weakening the most in Western Australia and Victoria with these two states responsible for 85% of the fall. NSW and Queensland had a slight increase in job ads.

Cleaners, tradespeople and food services are among the jobs that saw the biggest drop back in ads.

What they said: “Over the past year though the decline in job ads has been relatively broad-based, with job ads down in 86% of occupational categories,” said Indeed chief economist Callam Pickering.

ANZ economist Madeline Dunk pointed out that job ads are still above their pre-pandemic levels.

“But with average hours worked per person back in line with the long-run trend, we think the pace of employment growth will slow from here. That said, we only expect a modest lift in the unemployment rate to 4.3%,” she said.