‘Very competitive’: Grim reality for Aussie jobseekers as vacancies slump, advertisements fall for fourth month in a row

Australia’s job market remains “very competitive” in the lead-up to Christmas, putting further pressure on workers looking for their next role. New Seek figures show the grim reality for jobseekers, with job ad volumes down again in November, continuing a trend of softening demand in the second half of the year. The employment platform says job ads fell a further 0.5 per cent in November and were down 1.9 per cent over the year. The falls were broadbased, with every state besides South Australia recording monthly declines in job advertisements. Victoria led the monthly declines, with the number of job ads falling a further 1.4 per cent in November. This is the third year in a row that job ads in the state have fallen. Meanwhile, advertised jobs in NSW are down 1 per cent, ACT slipped 1.3 per cent and Tasmanian roles slumped 1.5 per cent in November. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said while less employers were advertising roles on Seek, applications per person were on the rise. “Applications per job ad, which have also stabilised since mid-year, continue to be elevated, so the market remains very competitive for candidates as job ads slow for the Christmas break,” he said. Mr Chapman said the job market was slowing from a strong start to the year. “This year has been a tale of two halves – the first six months demonstrated small but important growth after many months of decline, and then, since August, we have seen incremental drops month-on-month,” he said. Despite the pressure on those looking for their next job, Seek also shows advertised salaries continue to rise, up 0.4 per cent in November for their fastest rise since July last year. “Although overall employment growth is slowing, a shift from the public sector to the private sector as the key driver of job growth could explain the faster wage rises,” Mr Chapman said. “This is because private sector firms are more likely to use individual contracts and have greater ability to offer higher salaries than the public sector. “That said, the Australian Public Service Commission’s enterprise bargaining agreement specified an annual salary increase of 3.8 per cent for 2025, the annual rate of advertised salary growth that we are currently seeing.” Australian Bureau of Statistics data for November shows 21,000 less workers had a job. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.3 per cent. Leading the falls was a massive reduction in full-time work, with 57,000 people leaving the workforce. This was led by males, who accounted for 40,000 of the job losses, while 16,000 females left full-time work. Part-time employment partly offset the fall in full-time employment, rising by 35,000. The number of females working part-time increased by 29,000 and males by 6000.