ANZ Economist, Madeline Dunk: “ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads recorded its sixth consecutive monthly decline in July, with the series down 16.7 per cent since January. This points to continued cooling in the labour market.”

“We’ve also seen the share of employers recruiting fall sharply in June to levels last seen during the east coast 2021 lockdowns, while average hours worked per employed person has declined 30 minutes a week since February 2023. Taken together, there is a risk the labour market could slow more sharply than we and the Reserve Bank of Australia are forecasting.”

Indeed Senior Economist, Callam Pickering: “In July, the decline in ANZ-Indeed Job Ads was once again concentrated in Victoria and New South Wales. Falls in other states were more modest. The nation’s two most populous states account for around 86 per cent of the total decline in Job Ads over the past year.

Recent declines in Job Ads have reflected reduced demand in education, food preparation & service and nursing. Over the past three months, Job Ads have fallen for 57 per cent of occupational categories. Among those bucking the national trend, with Job Ads rising, have been physicians & surgeons and banking & finance.