ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads experienced a slight increase of 0.2% month-on-month in January, following a 0.3% rise in December. However, in trend terms, the series declined by 0.6% month-on-month.
Despite an annual decrease of 15.1%, the series remains 1.3% higher than in August 2024 and has largely stabilised. Currently, it is 15.0% above pre-pandemic levels.
"ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads has risen 0.5 per cent in the past two months, and the series is up 1.3 per cent from its August low. The stabilisation at a level 15.0 per cent above the pre-pandemic average points to the labour market’s resilience," ANZ Economist Sophia Angala stated.
Although the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point to 4.0% in December, it has remained within a tight range of 3.9-4.2% over the past ten months. Employment growth was strong in 2024, ending the year with a 3.1% year-on-year increase. There has been robust demand for labour, coupled with rising supply, supported by a 0.5 percentage point rise in the participation rate, reaching an all-time high of 67.1%. Economic experts do not anticipate a significant downturn in the labour market for 2025 but expect the unemployment rate to gradually rise to 4.3%.
In January, growth in Job Ads varied across regions. Declines in Queensland and South Australia were offset by increases in Victoria and Western Australia. New South Wales remained largely unchanged. Most of the annual decline in Job Ads occurred in New South Wales and Victoria, while figures remained relatively flat in the rest of Australia over the past year, according to Indeed Senior Economist Callam Pickering.
Pickering noted, "Reduced hiring in education and therapy roles weighed heavily on Job Ads in January. Food preparation and service opportunities also declined to a large degree, even accounting for seasonal trends. This was offset by opportunities in management and administration, both of which surged in early 2025. Overall, hiring in most sectors has stabilised in recent months."