Job ads edge up despite high interest rates
A modest 0.3 per cent rise in job ads indicates the labour market’s ongoing resilience, ANZ has said.
Job ads edged up last month, the latest ANZ data has shown, signalling the labour market’s ongoing resilience in the face of high interest rates.
The ANZ-Indeed survey, released on Monday, showed job ads rose by 0.3 per cent in December.
Job ads were also up 0.5 per cent over the October quarter – the first quarterly rise since Q3 2022.
ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said the steady figures, taken with other recent economic data, showed ongoing resilience in the labour market.
“Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) job vacancies figures grew 4.2 per cent q/q in the November quarter, the first rise since May 2022,” she said.
The data showed vacancies grew across most industry sectors, increasing in 14 out of 18 industries tracked by the ABS.
The biggest rises were in customer-facing industries including arts and recreation services which saw a 28.5 per cent rise and accommodation and food services, with a 20.1 per cent increase.
Meanwhile, construction and education and training recorded decreases, with the number of vacancies falling 11.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively.
Dunk also pointed to the low unemployment rate, which “fell 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 per cent in November”.
“The underemployment rate dropped to a 19-month low of 6.1 per cent,” she added.
The economy also added 36,000 jobs in November, coming in above estimates for a 25,000 increase.
Economists believe the inflation risk posed by the labour market’s resilience has been largely offset by weak economic growth and productivity levels.
“There is minimal risk of inflation fuelled by the labour market and the RBA safely retains its intended wins from near-full employment, yet the standard of living for many Australians is declining,” BDO economics partner Anders Magnusson last month.
“This labour market strength would typically occur alongside strong growth, but Australia’s productivity slowdown is preventing real and sustainable wage growth and improved living standards.”
The 0.3 per cent increase in job ads follows a revised 1.8 per cent decline in November.
ANZ added that ads were down 12.5 per cent compared to last year but were 14.7 per cent above pre-pandemic levels.
The ABS will release December Labour Force data on Thursday.
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