SEEK note that "April was the first.......>

AUSTRALIA: SEEK note that "April was the first full calendar month where we had

a clear indication of how COVID-19 was impacting the employment mkt. The full

set of social isolation measures were not imposed until mid-March, which

explains why March job ad declines were -27.4% M/M, compared to April's -49.9%

M/M. In the week ended 10 May, job advertising was down -59.7% compared to the

same week Y/Y. At the lowest point in April, week ended 19 April shows a job ad

decline of -69.1% compared to the same week Y/Y. This 10% shift means we may

have turned a corner after reaching a particularly low point of decline. The

Mining, Resources & Energy sector is holding up reasonably well, showing a

decline of -11% M/M, which is the lowest level of decline across all industries.

Retail & Consumer Products and Hospitality & Tourism have suffered due to the

significant restrictions imposed on their license to operate, with M/M job ad

declines of -55% & -59.6% respectively. In the first two weeks of May, we have

seen job ad volumes slowly creep back up, which aligns to the will of govts to

get the economy moving & get people back into jobs. We know this will take some

time, which is why we are cautious to be too positive at this point."