Australian employment advertising fell for the 12th month in succession in April, signalling more pain ahead in the job market as unemployment likely races higher over coming months.
Total job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet fell a seasonally-adjusted 7.5% in April, contributing to a 49.9% annual decline, its largest decline on record, according to a survey by ANZ Bank.
Internet job advertising fell 8.1% over the month, while newspaper advertising bucked the trend and rose 3.1%, according to ANZ. "This suggests that total employment in Australia will contract...falling employment levels will be the key driver of rising unemployment over the year ahead," said Warren Hogan, head of Australian economics at ANZ.