SEEK job ads decline by 8.9% but salaries grow 4.1%

STATE OF THE NATION:

  • Overview of April 2019 (vs. April 2018):
    • SEEK job ads are down by 8.9%
    • Average advertised salary is up by 4.1%
  • The four industries positively contributing to the job ad volume include: Education & Training, Healthcare & Medical, Mining, Resources & Energy and Government & Defence

STATE OF THE STATES:

  • All states showing a decline in job ad volume except Australian Capital Territory (+10.1%)
  • Healthcare & Medical is the main growth driver in NSW and QLD, with Education & Training leading the charge in VIC and SA

STATE OF THE NATION

The latest SEEK Employment Report showed a decline of 8.9% in jobs advertised compared to April 2018. Whereas, the average advertised salary across Australia rose 4.1% year on year.

Job ad growth in industries related to public service continues to outperform other sectors. This includes Education & Training (+11.9%), Healthcare & Medical (+3.7%) and Government & Defence (+2.3%).

Kendra Banks, Managing Director, SEEK ANZ comments: “From 2014, we saw consistent growth in job ads which reached a ten-year peak in April 2018. Due to a range of factors, including easing of the macroeconomic conditions, the rate of job ad growth has cooled since April 2018. This combined with the perfect storm of public holidays, with ANZAC Day and Easter seeing many employees taking increased annual leave and the upcoming election, resulted in April 2019 job ad figures being notably down year on year.”

Figure 1: SEEK new jobs ads since January 2012 highlighting job ad peak in April 2018

Education leading the way

Education & Training topped the list in April 2019 for sectors showing the most growth. Within this, roles for Tertiary Teaching (+33%) saw the greatest growth, followed by Secondary Teaching (+21.1%), Early Childhood (+13.7%) and Childcare and Outside School Hours (+10.5%).

Kendra comments, “Education & Training and Healthcare & Medical are less susceptible to economic cycles as these sectors are on a long run structural uptrend. The uptrend is fuelled by population growth, international student demand and greater industry demand for qualifications. This means these sectors are likely to top the leaderboard during periods of softening economic growth.”

Table 1: Four sectors showing job ad growth.

INDUSTRY

PERCENTAGE GROWTH (Y/Y APRIL 2019)

Education & Training

+11.9%

Healthcare & Medical

+3.7%

Mining, Resources & Energy

+3.1%

Government & Defence

+2.3%

STATE OF THE NATION: SALARY

Despite the slowdown in job ads, the average advertised salary across Australia in April was up +4.1% on last year. We continue to see strong growth in salaries across Queensland (+4.6%), NSW (+4.5%) and WA (+4.2%), with all states showing an increase.

Figure 2: National SEEK Job Ad growth by state (April 2018 vs. April 2019)

Figure 3: National SEEK Job Ad growth by industry (April 2018 vs. April 2019)

Table 2: Average Advertised Salaries Seasonally Adjusted

SALARIES SEASONALLY ADJUSTED

APRIL 19

ACT

NSW

NT

SA

TAS

VIC

WA

QLD

AUS

% increase

4.5%

3.9%

0.7%

4.1%

1.2%

4.2%

4.0%

4.6%

4.1%

avg. $

 $ 91,048

 $ 89,687

 $ 85,975

 $ 82,076

 $ 77,817

 $ 87,334

 $ 91,243

 $ 85,163

 $ 87,996

NOTE: When reporting SEEK data, we request that you attribute SEEK as the source.

Download the SEEK Employment data