Internet job index ñ March 2005

The Olivier Internet Job Index hit an all time high in March with an average of 154, 291 Australian jobs advertised on the net, beating the previous high of 150,222 in August 2000.

The very peak of demand was in the first week of the month. Then, punctured by the interest rate rise, job ad numbers fell slightly. The job numbers rose by 5.38% (seasonally adjusted) above Februaryís average figure. Over 12 months the Olivier IJI has risen 29.67%. Weíve heard of economies bumping along the bottom - perhaps you could call this bumping along the top, Robert Olivier, a Director of the Olivier Group says. The jobs market is still flying at phenomenally high levels - this is just a little high level turbulence. The RBA cited higher employment costs and the potential contribution to inflation as one trigger for the last interest rate rise on March 2. The rate rise had a negative effect on the job market, but thatís the RBAís intended consequence, Robert Olivier says. There have been only three rate rises in the more than four years of the Olivier Internet Job Index. We now know that interest rate rises do disturb the jobs market - they did at the end of 2003, and it did again last month.î

Business news generally has been negative, and that can have a knock- on effect on job ads, Robert Olivier comments. ìAnd thereís continuing speculation about another rate rise. Weíd expect more volatility over the next few months before a clear trend emerges.

ìUnlike surveys of hiring intentions or business confidence the Olivier Internet Job Index reflects actual jobs on offer. Any violatilty in our figures reflects real changes in the views of employers.î The Internet Job Index is down in just 4 of the 21 industry sectors and none of the falls are significant according to our analysis. There are no black spots, says Robert Olivier, but there are plenty of bright sectors. The Financial Sector, Building & Construction and IT& T all performed well.

The Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance & Superannuation sectors all came back strongly. This is partly explained by the Superannuation Choice of Funds changes coming into effect in the beginning of the next financial year, Robert Olivier explains. The global banking risk management and reporting changes required by Basel II is creating job opportunities for specialists. Corporate finance is also going quite strongly - the potential Telstra 3 float may be having an effect there.

Building and Construction jobs rose by 10.48% seasonally adjusted in the month, and 60.77% over the year. After a surprising fall in February IT& T rose 6.66% in March. Hospitality bounced back 3.81% after falling last month and Healthcare rose 6.32%. Administration and support staff are in high demand with an 11. 01% rise in job ads over the month. Given the tight employment market it comes as no surprise that HR has grown 93.72% in the year, and 7.32% in the month. Robert Olivier is a Director of Olivier Group, one of Australiaís Top 100 fastest growing companies, according to BRW. The Olivier Internet Job Index surveyed 154,291 Positions Vacant ads on commercial job sites in March 2005, and analysed them by state and industry sector. Seek, the online employment website which is about to float, may have picked the top of the market for its $170 million initial public offering. The Olivier data shows that on top of the record level of job ads overall, Seek had
6% more ads last month than in February. It is superb timing for them - to be going public just as the internet job market hits a new high, Robert Olivier said.