ANZ job ads: loss of momentum continues

Key Points 

• In seasonally adjusted terms, ANZ Australian Job Advertisements eased slightly in April (-0.2% m/m), the third consecutive monthly decline (March -0.1% m/m, February -0.4% m/m). In y/y terms growth slowed to 8.6% in April, down from 11.5% in the previous month.
• In trend terms, job ads were up 0.4% m/m in April, following a 0.7% rise in March. The number of job ads currently sits 10.5% higher than a year ago.

ANZ's head of Australian Economics, David Plank, commented: 

“After a sharp rise in January, ANZ Job Ads have eased slightly for the last three months.

They are now 8.6% higher than a year ago, the slowest annual gain since May 2017.

Alongside the loss of momentum in job ads employment growth has also slowed. In part we

think this slowdown in employment reflects payback after excessive strength.

While the growth in job ads has paused, the level of job ads is high and is consistent with

ongoing employment growth. As well, business conditions and profitability remain well above

their long term average. Levels of capacity utilisation also remain high. As a consequence we

remain optimistic about the outlook for employment growth, even if we get some further

adjustment after last year’s strength. For 2018 as a whole we expect jobs growth to be at a

pace consistent with a gradual decrease in the unemployment rate.”

Download full report