Strong prospects for jobseekers, more jobs in Australia than 12 months ago

There were 7 per cent more jobs advertised on SEEK this January than 12 months ago, with improved results across the states and territories.

Michael Ilczynski, Managing Director for SEEK Australia and New Zealand, said the increase in advertising in recent months has been driven by continuing solid job ad growth in South Australia [SA], Queensland [QLD] and Victoria [VIC], as well as an upturn in advertising in Western Australia [WA].

“South Australia continued to have the largest y/y advertising growth of all the states and territories this January, with job ads on SEEK up 25.4 per cent y/y, with the most job opportunities coming from Trades & Services sector [up 48 per cent y/y],” Ilczynski said.

Automotive mechanics and technicians, hairdressers, beauty therapists and electricians, were the most sought after Trades & Services professionals in SA this January.

“Queensland job ads were up 8 per cent y/y this January, fuelling the growth was; Trades & Services [up 21 per cent y/y], Healthcare & Medical [up 10 per cent y/y] and Hospitality and Tourism [up 7 per cent y/y],” Ilczynski said.

“WA job ads rose for the fourth consecutive month in January with job ads up 0.8 per cent y/y, with the Mining, Resources & Energy industry enjoying the greatest advertising growth in WA this January, with job ads up 45 per cent y/y.

The WA mining professionals in high demand this January were Mining Engineering & Maintenance specialists, with more than 500 job opportunities on SEEK, and Mining Operators with over 300 jobs advertised.

“In NSW and Victoria, Australia's largest labour markets, advertising on SEEK was up 4.9 per cent y/y and 8.6 per cent y/y respectively this January when compared to the same period last year,” Ilczynski added.

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

At a national level, the industries with the largest job ad volume on SEEK this January were:

CANDIDATE AVAILABILITY

Across Australia there has been a y/y increase of 1.1 per cent in the SEEK Employment Index this January, 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 this January in NSW, WA, TAS, and the ACT and NT. 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,” Ilczynski said.

“While in VIC, QLD and SA, there were reasonable competition conditions for job seekers and employers,” he added.

INDUSTRY FOCUS

Job ads on SEEK for the Marketing & Communications industry grew 2 per cent this January when compared to the same period last year.

The greatest year on year [y/y] advertising growth for the Marketing & Communications industry was seen in SA where there were 29 per cent more jobs than 12 months ago.

In SA, Marketing Assistants/Coordinators and Marketing Communication Specialists were most in demand on SEEK.

The ACT also enjoyed solid Marketing & Communications growth with job ads up 26 per cent y/y.

“It's encouraging to see advertising on SEEK increase across several states and territories for the Marketing & Communications industry. It shows opportunities are not just isolated to NSW, Australia's largest labour market, which is widely regarded as the hub for this industry,” Ilczynski said.

“Even though there is more job growth across the country for Marketing & Communications professionals, NSW still offers the most opportunities for this sector, despite job ads dipping 2 per cent y/y in NSW this January.

“Victoria and Queensland were the next top states for Marketing & Communications opportunities this January,” Ilczynski added.

Across Australia, the most in-demand Marketing & Communications professionals on SEEK this January, and their average advertised annual salaries were:

Employment Data Report