Construction helps build growth, SEEK job ads up 3.9 per cent

Job advertisements on SEEK rose 3.9 per cent this October when compared to the same period last year.

Michael Ilczynski, Managing Director for SEEK Australia and New Zealand, said the momentum of the construction industry across Australia is helping boost job ads on SEEK this October.

“Construction advertising on SEEK is 13 per cent higher than this time last year,” Ilczynski said.

“Across the Construction sub-classifications on SEEK, all sectors are experiencing growth apart from the smallest sector of Quality Assurance & Control, though this makes up less than 1 per cent of construction jobs,” he added.

Graph one: SEEK New Job Ads Growth, Construction, October 2016 vs October 2015

The roles within Construction that had the greatest number of new job ads on SEEK this October and their average advertised salaries were:

“The states with the highest number of Construction job opportunities on SEEK this October were New South Wales [NSW] and Victoria [VIC], with job ads up 16 per cent year on year [y/y] and 25 per cent y/y respectively.

“Helping drive this advertising uplift in both states are high levels of residential apartment construction,” Ilczynski said.

“Behind NSW and VIC, the next top state for Construction opportunities on SEEK is Queensland [QLD], with job ads rising 19 per cent y/y,” he continued.

Construction advertising has also grown strongly in South Australia [SA] and the Australian Capital Territory [ACT], up 37 per cent and 8 per cent y/y respectively. However, Construction is a smaller advertising industry in SA and ACT, so there are less job opportunities on offer than in NSW, VIC and QLD.

In Western Australia [WA] construction continues to decline, down 27 per cent y/y, a trend which is likely related to the decline in mining investment.

“The strong growth in construction roles we’re seeing on SEEK is also reflected through the Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index,®” Ilczynski said.

“The latest index has reported a record of 663 tower cranes across Australia for Q3 2016, with 90 per cent of cranes on eastern seaboard projects and 81 per cent of all cranes on new residential developments.

“These Index statistics help support the growth trend we’ve seen in Construction job ads on SEEK this October,” Ilczynski continued.

Australian Job Market

Australia’s labour markets have had mixed results this October.

“South Australia had the largest y/y advertising growth of all the states and territories, with job ads on SEEK up 12.8 per cent y/y this October.

“SA’s advertising uplift on SEEK is being driven by growth across the state’s top advertising industries, which are Trades & Services [up 22 per cent y/y], Healthcare & Medical [up 16 per cent y/y] and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics [up 13 per cent y/y].

“In NSW, Australia’s largest labour market, advertising on SEEK rose 4.9 per cent y/y this October, while in VIC job ads were up 7.9 per cent y/y when compared to the same period last year. In both states, Information & Communication Technology [ICT] remains the top advertising industry on SEEK,” Ilczynski said.

“Job ads on SEEK for QLD have also continued to improve, with increases in the past five months and advertising now trending up by 0.9 per cent m/m and up 2.1 per cent y/y this October.

“WA remains the country’s weakest labour market, with job ads down 16.1 per cent y/y,” Ilczynski added.

Job ads on SEEK in other states and territories this October:

Candidate Availability

At a national level, there has been a y/y increase of 2.9 per cent in the SEEK Employment Index this October, which points to favourable conditions for job seekers as there is slightly less applications, for each role. However, underneath this national figure there is a clear difference in candidate availability at a state and territory level.

It was a hirer’s market in WA, TAS, and the NT this October when compared to the same period last year. For each job advertised there was a higher than average number of candidates applying, creating more competition for job seekers but providing hirers with a larger pool of candidates to choose from.

“In NSW, VIC, SA, QLD and the ACT this October, there were reasonable competition conditions for job seekers and employers,” Ilczynski said.

Employment Data Report