Advertised salaries climbed 3.5% annually in September, likely boosted by Fair Work’s minimum wage increase. Dr Blair Chapman unpacks the labour market’s mixed signals.
What’s happening: Job ads rose 0.8% month-on-month in September, with the annual decline slowing to just 1.1%, the slowest rate since November 2022. Retail and Consumer Products roles, alongside Trades and Services and Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics, drove growth.
Why this matters: The data suggests Australia’s labour market may be stabilising after a prolonged cooldown, though jobseekers still face intense competition.
Australia’s labour market showed signs of stabilisation in September, with job advertisements rising modestly even as competition among jobseekers reached unprecedented levels, according to employment marketplace SEEK’s latest data.
Retail leads growth
Job ads rose 0.8% month-on-month in September, marking a meaningful shift from recent trends. The growth was concentrated in specific sectors, with Retail and Consumer Products roles, as well as Trades and Services and Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics, seeing strong demand that contributed to overall growth across the states.
However, professional services showed weakness. Insurance and Superannuation roles declined 2.9% month-on-month, whilst Banking and Financial Services fell 1.5%, placing them amongst the five industries recording declining demand.
Dr Blair Chapman, SEEK Senior Economist, characterised the market as broadly stable but acknowledged ongoing challenges.
“September’s data reveals Australia’s demand for workers is broadly stable, with job ads rising 0.8%. The annual job ad decline has slowed to 1.1%, the slowest since November 2022. However, as the recent rise in the unemployment rate and the slowdown in employment growth indicate, the labour market remains challenging,” Dr Chapman said.
Competition intensifies
Whilst hiring showed modest improvement, jobseekers face mounting competition. Applications per job ad increased by 0.6% in August, the latest month for which data is available, continuing an upward trajectory that has pushed candidate engagement to record levels.
“With applications per job ad also rising 0.6% in August, we’re seeing increased candidate engagement alongside growing demand, highlighting that the market remains tough for job seekers,” Dr Chapman said.
The trend reflects broader patterns across Australia’s employment landscape. A staggering 78% of job applications now arrive through job boards and advertising channels, marking a dramatic increase from just 57% in Q2 2022 Job boards reign supreme: Applications climb to 78% in Q2, according to separate data from JobAdder published earlier this year.
Salaries inch higher
On the salary front, SEEK’s Advertised Salary Index revealed continued growth, though at a measured pace. Advertised salary growth rose 0.3% month-on-month in September, the second consecutive month of growth.
Annual advertised salary growth ticked up slightly to 3.5% year-on-year, remaining within the 3.3-3.7% range seen since October 2024. Dr Chapman attributed part of the increase to regulatory changes. “After slowing earlier this year, following a couple of weak months of growth, annual advertised salaries have risen to 3.5% year-ended in September. The decision by the Fair Work Commission to increase the National Minimum Wage and all modern award minimum wage rates by 3.5% on 1 July is likely contributing to this increase in advertised salaries,” Dr Chapman said.
He noted that current conditions differ markedly from early 2024’s more robust environment. “Labour market conditions are no longer as supportive of the fast-advertised salary growth that we saw in early 2024, with a slowdown in employment growth alongside a decline in participation this year,” Dr Chapman said.
The September data comes as Australia’s employment landscape continues adjusting to shifting economic conditions, with businesses navigating talent acquisition amid persistent cost pressures and evolving workforce expectations.
SEEK Managing Director ANZ Kendra Banks previously told Dynamic Business that relevance is crucial to the hiring process, stating: “When candidates receive relevant matches to their search, and hirers are delivered qualified applicants, perhaps outside of what they expected, the whole process becomes more efficient and more seamless for everyone.”
Also read: Four trends that will shape the way we work in 2024
For insights into how AI is transforming recruitment processes, read Dynamic Business’s coverage of AI tools for talent acquisition.
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