Credit: Photo 7400878 / Computer Jobs © Feng Yu | Dreamstime.com
Australian IT job ad listings dipped during April, dropping by 2.9 per cent month-on-month.
This is according to job advertising website SEEK’s latest Employee Dashboard report and is considerably down on March’s decline of 0.1 per cent.
This month’s decline was led by the ACT, which fell 17 per cent – a considerable drop from its 15.5 per cent growth in March. This was followed by Tasmania with 6.4 per cent, Queensland with 4.2 per cent, NSW with 1.5 per cent and Victoria with 2.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Northern Territory spearheaded growth for IT job ads during the month, rising 15.6 per cent. This was followed closely by South Australia with 15 per cent and Western Australia with 2.7 per cent.
The fall in IT job ad listings comes as overall job ads in the country fell by 1.4 per cent month-on-month and 19.1 per cent year-on-year. However, this is “historically high” compared to 2019’s figures, according to Kendra Banks, SEEK managing director for Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ).
“April is an interrupted month with a number of public holidays, which likely has led to a slowdown in hiring, and we are also observing a large year-on-year decline in free ads at the low end of the market (e.g. Jora Local) in areas such as hospitality and tourism,” she said.
“Looking more broadly across the Jan-April 2023 period, job ads are on average down 14 per cent, compared to the same period last year, which is expected given the elevated levels we experienced at that time.
“Applications per job ad rose at a faster pace than in the month prior, up by a notable 7.7 per cent. Candidates are increasingly interested in a career move, and competition is growing for those available opportunities.”
