Next three months will be a critical indicator for job demand – CEO
Australia's Job Index has experienced a slight dip of 0.6% in the last quarter, signalling the market's response to external pressures, according to the latest jobs report from the Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association (RCSA).
The report revealed a modest decrease in job postings compared to New Zealand, where postings have plummeted by 10.8% in the past three months.
“Australia is holding firm, but the quarterly retraction suggests market confidence is waning,” said Charles Cameron (pictured above), CEO of RCSA. “What happens in the next three months will be a critical indicator as to whether job demand in Australia is on the same trajectory as what we are seeing over the ditch.”
Despite the dip in job postings during the June quarter, Australia remains resilient against economic uncertainty, according to the report. The national index shows promise, standing 22.3% higher than it was two years ago. However, the slight decline in job postings raises concerns about a possible rise in unemployment in the near future.
“The figures are promising but the slight drop does indicate that successive interest rate rises are finally starting to impact employment. Our members are telling us that the market does remain fairly balanced,” Cameron said. “We have actually seen permanent jobs rise 0.7% in the last quarter.”
Permanent job opportunities have increased by 0.7% in the last quarter, but the demand for flexible workers has unexpectedly fallen by 5%, hinting at ongoing business confidence issues, the report found.
“We know that historically employers tend to favour a flexible workforce when the economy is uncertain so that they can scale their operations up and down to respond to the market,” Cameron said. “We are not seeing this happen. Skills shortages could be a factor in bucking this trend. A lack of talent can motivate employers to lock in permanent staff.”
Demand for staff in education, accommodation, and food services remains strong, with job postings in these sectors rising by more than 10%. Education, in particular, experienced the highest growth, with a demand increase of 18.3% over the past 12 months, the report found. Sales staff and service and community workers have also found abundant job opportunities, with a 26.7% cumulative rise for sales staff across all occupation types.
Read next: Rate hikes could cost jobs – RBA
However, there are sectors experiencing declines in job demand. The healthcare sector saw a sharp 10% downturn in the last three months, but demand remains 7.1% higher than the previous year. Positions for health, education, and community professionals also declined. Manufacturing roles have become scarce, experiencing an 8.8% decline, and the demand for technology professionals dropped by 2.3%, marking the fourth consecutive quarterly fall. Year on year, the demand in the technology sector has diminished by 25.4%.
“Our members are telling us venture capital firms and private equity Investors have been tightening their belts and funding is being withdrawn from projects without long term commercial value,” Cameron said. “Unfortunately, we are seeing a lot of contracts aren’t being renewed.”
Have something to say about this story? Let us know in the comments below.
