SEEK Employment Report: 3 Rates Of Recovery Emerge Across Australia

SEEK note that their latest monthly Employment Report shows a "2.0% m/m national decline in jobs advertised. This is the first time a decline has been reported since April. Comparing August 2020 with August 2019, job ads are 29.1% lower, which is the smallest difference in y/y comparison since the pandemic began. August data also shows that job ads across all states and territories are recovering from their lowest point in April at three different rates, with some states rebounding and showing comparable pre-COVID job ad levels. We are seeing three distinct rates of recovery emerge across Australia. The first group are the states that have fully rebounded or have job ad rates comparable to pre-COVID levels – this includes Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Northern Territory. The second group are the states that are continuing to recover towards pre-COVID levels, which are Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Unsurprisingly this leaves Victoria as the state which declined significantly for a second month, where stage four restrictions continue to have a major impact on businesses and hiring. The national month-on-month decrease of 2.0% is being driven by the existing restrictions in Victoria which are impacting job ad growth. Excluding Victoria, the rest of Australia saw a 1.8% increase in job ad volumes in August when compared to July. NSW and Victoria, the two biggest contributors to the nation's economy, are currently the only states below the national average for year-on-year job ad growth."