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Job advertisements rise dramatically as restrictions ease

Almost 900,000 Australians rely on the JobSeeker allowance of under $50 a day.

Almost 900,000 Australians rely on the JobSeeker allowance of under $50 a day. Photo: Getty

Job advertisements have risen dramatically across Australia in a sign business confidence may be on the rise as pandemic restrictions ease.

New job ads posted on the employment website SEEK between May 25 and June 7 rose by 60.6 per cent, with Tasmania and Queensland leading the way.

This compares to rises of 26.8 per cent, 39.7 per cent and 49.2 per cent in previous three fortnights, SEEK said on Friday.

It comes as employers struggle to recruit truckies and child carers, with a lack of applicants the chief reason for difficulty finding workers.

The National Skills Commission’s latest jobs survey ranked truck drivers and childcare staff as the hardest occupations to fill.

Motor mechanics, managers and retail sales assistants rounded out the top five.

A lack of applicants was the leading source of recruitment headaches, followed by insufficient experience.

The survey – conducted between May 11 and June 5 – found 26 per cent of bosses struggled with recruitment, down from 38 per cent in April.

Retail workers saw the greatest demand, with truckies and child carers ranked second and third respectively.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the figures showed Australia was on the right path to economic recovery.

“The data shows businesses are starting to hire again, in many industries and at all skill levels, with the highest number of jobs in demand having no requirement for a formal qualification,” she said on Friday.

“As restrictions ease, we expect this trend will continue.”

New jobs on the rise

Usually, job ad volumes ease off toward the end of the financial year and then jump in July and August when employers re-set their budgets.

SEEK Australia Managing Director Kendra Banks said the new ad postings “reaffirms our view that job ad volumes are recovering, although still in the early stages of recovery”.

“With the continued easing of (COVID-19) restrictions, the economic measures put in place by the government and the new financial year we hope to see this translate into more jobs advertised in July,” Ms Bank said.

The SEEK data also shows ads for workers in the trades and services, healthcare and medical, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, transport and logistics and education and training sectors prompted most of the growth in the fortnight ended June 7.

All states and territories had an increase in job ad volumes, with Tasmania and Queensland leading the way, in the fortnight.

Job advertisement volumes by state

  • Tasmania, up 86.3 per cent
  • Queensland, up 82.2 per cent
  • Northern Territory, up 75.7 per cent
  • Victoria, up 73.4 per cent
  • South Australia, up 66.1 per cent
  • New South Wales, up 52.8 per cent
  • Western Australia, up 39.0 per cent
  • Australian Capital Territory, up 19.1 per cent

Source: SEEK

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