Australia and New Zealand Banking : ANZ Australian Job Ads a small decline

"ANZ Job Ads dropped 0.5 per cent m/m in April but remained 57.3 per cent above the prepandemic level." ANZ Head of Australian Economics, David Plank said.

"Labour market conditions are very tight, as confirmed by the 3.7 per cent increase in newly lodged job ads (or 10,200 new job ads) in March recorded by the National Skill Commission's Internet Vacancy Index.

Another employment report, this time by SEEK, showed that job ads increased in 26 of 28 industry categories in March, with hospitality and tourism roles registering the greatest growth.

In March, employment rose by 18k, below market expectations of 30k. The participation rate remained stable at its all-time high of 66.4 per cent and the unemployment rate declined to 3.95 per cent, its lowest since 1974. However, a lot of people struggling were still struggling to find work, the long-term unemployment rate relatively high at 1 per cent, despite the record high number of job vacancies recorded by the ABS in February (Figure 1). This shows that even with a very strong labour market there are areas that need attention.

We expect strong labour demand to lead to solid employment gains in the coming months. We see the unemployment rate dropping well below 4 per cent in the second half of 2022, which should reinforce the momentum toward higher wages growth."

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