Job Supply and Demand in Equilibrium

Australiaís employment market remains strong, with supply and demand exhibiting continued equilibrium according to the July SEEK Employment Index released today.

Developed in consultation with Victoria Universityís Centre for Strategic Economic Studies (CSES), the SEEK Employment Index (SEEK EI) is the first Australian aggregate indicator to directly compare labour market supply with labour market demand.

In July, the SEEK Applications Per Ad Indicator rose by 2.4%, to recover from a decline of 1% in June 05. The strongest gains were in Queensland where there was an increase of 5.3%, and the greatest falls were in SA (-6.8%) and WA (-1.8%).

Between June and July 05, the number of new ads posted on the SEEK website fell by 4.1% (seasonally adjusted), but remained 35% higher than at July 04. The overall number of job applications made to employers in response to new job ads also declined by 3.8% but was 31% higher than July 04.

SEEK CEO Paul Bassat said: ìOur data shows that supply and demand have both slightly softened following a year of solid employment growth.

ìIn July it became marginally harder for people to find a job and marginally easier for employers to fill available positions. This reflects an employment market that remains healthy and buoyant.

ìThe small falls in the number of job ads and applications also need to be considered in the context of very strong employment market growth over the past 12 months. There continues to be strong demand and fierce competition to attract qualified candidates. Australian jobseekers are becoming increasingly aware of this situation and taking advantage of new job opportunities.î

The SEEK Employment Index also uncovered differences across states. The easiest State to get a job in July was South Australia, which experienced an increase in new job ads posted (1.6%) and a decrease in the number of people applying for each new job (-6.8%). In contrast, job ads in the ACT fell by 11.3% and applications per job increased by 15.9%, making it relatively difficult to land a new position.

ìThe SEEK Employment Index will be expanded in time to include breakdowns in specific industry sectors, and it is designed to complement other existing economic indicatorsî, Paul Bassat said.

ìWhen the market is examined as a whole, the July SEEK Employment Index shows there is little evidence of labour supply shortage and wage pressure. This is consistent with the RBAís recent position on expectations of price inflationî.

Please click the link below to view the July SEEK Employment Index