SEEK Employment Report February - Great Job Boom Continues To Reverberate

FEBRUARY 2022 AT A GLANCE:
STATE OF THE NATION:

• February was another record month for job ads which rose 2.2% month-on-month (m/m).
• Job ads rose 35.8% year-on-year (y/y) and were 41.4% higher than February 2019.
• Applications per job ad decreased 2.4% m/m.

STATE OF THE STATES & TERRITORIES:

• All states and the ACT recorded m/m and y/y growth in job ads in February, but the Northern Territory declined by 0.2% m/m.
• Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia were the greatest contributors to national job ads growth by volume, increasing 3.3%, 2.8% and 1.4% respectively m/m.

STATE OF THE INDUSTRIES:

• The Tourism & Hospitality industry experienced the greatest m/m increase in demand, rising 20.1%, followed by Sport & Recreation, which grew 19.2% and Retail & Consumer Products which rose 12.3%.
• The most roles on site in February were in Trades & Services.

STATE OF THE NATION: GREAT JOB BOOM CONTINUES TO REVERBERATE
 
The latest SEEK Employment Report data reveals another record month of job ads in February, continuing to build since the start of 2022. Job ads grew by 2.2% m/m, 35.8% y/y and are now 41.4% higher than pre-pandemic February 2019.
 
Candidate applications per job ad fell by 2.4% last month following two months of increases. Although applications remain higher than was recorded in October last year.
 
Kendra Banks, Managing Director, SEEK ANZ, comments:
 
“The Great Job Boom continues in Australia with another record month of job ads in February. We have seen record job ad numbers in four out of the last five months, with the exception of the Christmas period.
 
“Demand for talent is stronger than ever with job ads more than 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels. This is particularly evident in customer facing roles such as those in Hospitality & Tourism, Sport & Recreation and Retail & Consumer Products which were the three industries that experienced the largest month-on-month growth in ads.”

Table 1: National, state and territory job ad growth/decline comparing February 2022 to: i) January 2022 (m/m); ii) February 2021 (y/y) and iii) February 2019.
 
 

STATE OF THE STATES AND TERRITORIES: MULTIPLE STATES RECORD HIGHEST EVER JOB ADS
 
All states and territories nationally had more job ads in February than the same time last year. In addition, each state recorded its highest job ad figures ever last month.
 
Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia were the greatest contributors to national job ads growth, increasing 3.3%, 2.8% and 1.4% respectively m/m.
 
Tasmania had the largest increase, jumping 4.2% compared to January, and almost twice the number of jobs compared to February 2019.
 
The Northern Territory was the outlier with a slight decline in job ads in February, falling 0.2% m/m.
 
Kendra Banks continues:
 
“When comparing to last year, and even pre-pandemic 2019, all states and territories across Australia are booming.
 
“Victoria and New South Wales were responsible for the most new ads on site by absolute volume, driven by Hospitality & Tourism and Retail and Consumer Products roles in particular.
 
“Western Australia, in anticipation of its borders opening in early March, experienced a 1.4% rise in demand.
 
“Tasmania, which is one of the smallest employment markets, experienced the greatest job ad growth, rising 4.2% month-on-month. This was mainly driven by demand in Hospitality & Tourism and Healthcare & Medical roles.” 
 
Figure 1: State and territory job ad volumes – February 2019 to February 2022

Figure 2: National SEEK Job Ad percentage change by state (February 2022 vs January 2022)

STATE OF THE INDUSTRIES: SECTORS SEEK TALENT AT RECORD LEVELS
 
Four of the five industry sectors were advertising at record levels in February as the Construction, Consumer Services, Industrial, and the Public Sectors each reached 25-year highs.
 
Roles in Consumer Services industries were responsible for the greatest monthly increase in job ads in February, with Hospitality & Tourism roles jumping 20.1% m/m and Retail & Consumer Products growing 12.3%.
 
Public Services roles, such as those within Healthcare & Medical, Education & Training and Community Services & Development also continued to rise by 2.2% m/m, which is 30.9% higher than February 2021.
 
While not all industries recorded an increase in ads in February, those that saw a decline did so only marginally, such as Information & Communications Technologies and Accounting each falling by 0.6% and Design & Architecture and Advertising Arts & Media dropping 2.3% and 3.1% respectively.
 
Kendra Banks comments: “Most of our major hiring industries recorded increases in February, notably consumer facing roles in Hospitality & Tourism and Retail & Consumer Products.
 
“With international and all internal borders now open, we can expect greater mobility of workers, but whether this leads to an uptick in candidate applications is yet to be seen, and something we will be watching closely over the coming months.”  
  
Figure 3: National SEEK Job Ad percentage change by industry (February 2022 vs January 2022) – Ordered by job ad volume.

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