Online job ads fell by 1.3 percent in July, with employers hiring intentions on hold until after the election, according to the latest Advantage Job Index.
Advantage director Bob Olivier believes the election has impacted online job advertising, with human resources and building and construction sectors performing the worst, with falls of 10.42 percent and 9.4 percent respectively.
July’s fall in online Job advertisements was the second fall this year, with April also recording a slight dip in job ad numbers, however the recent trend has been positive or at least neutral numbers, with a 5.47 percent rebound in May followed by a 0.14 percent rise in June when concerns over the resource super profits tax were at their highest.
July’s 1.3 percent dip, coming primarily from a slow down in human resources suggests big corporates are holding off their expansion plans as growth moderates. In addition the six interest rate increases to come from the Reserve Bank of Australia this year have put the brakes on the construction industry with the pipeline of construction being worked through from earlier this year drying up, with the reduction in first home buyer grants contributing to the fall.
Advantage’s Job Index contrasts with IPA recruitment’s Job Vacancies data released last week, which found job vacancies rebounded 13.9 percent in July, with demand for human resources and industrial relations staff leading the charge.
IPA recruitment attributed the spike in demand for human resources staff to the new awards system which came into effect on August the 1st. This may be as a result of the the difference between the Advantage Job Index recording ‘Job Ads’ and IPA recruitment looking at ‘Job Vacancies’ (described by IPA as job openings that have yet to be filled, not necessarily turned into job ads at this point), with job vacancies likely to evolve into job ads over the next month as recruiters go to market, with job ads for HR specialists likely to be seen in the Advantage Job Index for August.
