NAB/SEEK: Job Ads Lift To Further Record Highs

NAB note that "SEEK new job ads rose 11.9% m/m in April, further extending the record high levels of advertising that were seen last month. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, job ads are now 38.8% above February 2020 levels. The strong growth in SEEK job ads indicates an ongoing labour market tightening even after the JobKeeper wage subsidy ended last month. The strong demand for labour coupled with decreased candidate availability suggests an ongoing tightening in the labour market is occurring. In part, this likely reflects some dislocation in labour supply and labour shortages as a result of interstate and international border restrictions… Job ads across a large number of industries are now above pre-pandemic levels (see industry trends chart). With the lifting of restrictions, the strongest growth has been seen in industries that were significantly affected by pandemic restrictions e.g. Hospitality & Tourism (+136.8% on Feb 2020 levels) on both the demand and labour supply side. Given the sharp rebound in activity, labour shortages are increasingly being reported with closed international borders a factor. Labour shortages due to closed international borders are also being reflected in agriculture, where SEEK notes job ads for Farming, Animals & Conservation are +83.8% above the Feb 2020 pre-pandemic level. A second consecutive big winter grain crop on the back of widespread summer and autumn rains amid high commodity prices is also a driver."