Australia | May 07 2007
By Rudi Filapek-Vandyck
ANZ Bank economists report the total number of jobs advertised in Australia through major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose by 3.5% in April to a weekly average of 228,445 per week.
April’s rise follows a 1.9% rise in total advertisements recorded in March. Compared with April last year the total number of advertisements was 27.0% higher.
ANZ’s monthly survey revealed it was all due to the internet as the number of job advertisements in major metropolitan newspapers declined by 1.3% last month to an average of 19,897 per week. This fall follows a 2.0% rise in March. Newspaper advertisements are now 0.8% higher than in April 2006, reports ANZ.
According to the bank, he fall in newspaper job advertisements was driven by declines in Western Australia (-5.7%); Queensland (-4.8%); New South Wales (-3.5%); Tasmania (-2.7%); South Australia (-2.2%); and Victoria (-2.1%). Job advertisement increases were recorded in two territories, the ACT (4.0%) and the Northern Territory (0.8%).
The number of job advertisements on the internet, on the other hand, grew by 4.0% in April to an average of 208,548 per week. In trend terms, internet job advertisements are still growing solidly, and annual growth has picked up slightly over the past six months (29.4% in April), says ANZ.
ANZ Head of Australian Economics Tony Pearson was quoted in the press release as saying: “The Australian economy has entered 2007 with a great deal of momentum. The labour market has continued to tighten, and employers are increasingly being challenged by a lack of availability of suitable labour.”