New Year Welcomed by Robust Labour Market

The SEEK Employment Index Indicator
The news is good for jobseekers reluctantly returning to work after the Christmas break. The SEEK Employment Index (EI) increased by almost 1 point in January (0.9%, seasonally adjusted). This reflects a labour market that continues to be tight with demand for labour remaining strong but easing. There was relatively less competition among job seekers for positions during the month.

During January, job ads posted outstripped job seeker applications in Victoria, ACT and Western Australia, indicating that vacant positions are plentiful for qualified job seekers. WA, in particular, continues to be a challenging market for employers with weak competition for job ads posted.

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In January new job ads posted on SEEK decreased 3.7% since December. Job ad decline was unevenly distributed, with NSW (-5.4%) and Queensland (-6.3%) experiencing relatively larger falls, compared to WA (-1.8%) and Victoria (-2.7%).

However, year on year, job ads increased by 18.9% indicating a solid demand for labour in 2007.

Commenting on the results, SEEK Sales Director Joe Powell said: ìJanuary often sets the tone for what employers can expect during the year, and we predict that considerable variations will continue between states during 2007.

ìClearly demand for labour remains very strong, but to take full advantage of the opportunites on offer, job seekers in some industries may need to look further afield than the state they live in.

ìEmployers, on the other hand, who are having difficulty recruiting suitable employees should consider expanding their recruitment strategies to cover interstate markets.î

Professor Peter Sheehan, Director of the Centre for Strategic Economic Studies said: ìThe Australian labour market appears to have opened 2007 on a firm note, 2.5 points higher than at this time last year. Strong demand for skilled workers is continuing across all states but labour market supply remains patchyî, he said.