Edward George

20/04/2015

"Nationally, new jobs advertised in February fell 3 percent month-on-month,partly reversing January's 5.6 percent rise. Despite the dip in February's figures the Australian labour market continues to progress. The market is in better shape now than this tim elast year with new job ads 7.3 percent higher than 12 months ago to February 2015."

"The factors across the economy we're seeing such as low interest rates and lower petrol prices are helping to maintain a degree of optimism in the employment market. Furthermore the recent historic high number of dwelling construction approvals is having a positive flow on effect to labour demand for supporting services. The rate at which these factors continue to support the labour market is unknown and something we continue to watch," Mr. Powell said.

"As in recent months, most of the grown is being driven by Australia's largest employing states, NSW and VIC. While New South Wales recorded 3.2 percent dip and Victoria a minor 1 percent dip in February, this followed strong January month-on-month gains of 9.8 and 5.1 percent respectively."

"South Australia and Western Australia each experienced relatively large falls, with 3.5 and 4.6 percent month on month declines respectively. IN each case it was the third relatively sizeable fall in job ads in these markets over the past four months, which suggests tougher labour market conditions in these states for jobseekers."

The SEEK Employment Index fell 1.9 percent accross Australia in February 2015 indicating a strong volume of applications for every job ad which is currently posted on SEEK. The index fell across the states of: NSW down 2.9 percent, QLD down 2.5 percent, SA down 4.8 percent, WA down 4.5 percent, but rose 1.7 percent in Victoria.

12/11/2014

Job ad growth continues to climb, underpinned by continued strength in NSW and a recovery in Western Australia.

A 0.9 per cent seasonally adjusted rise in new job ads from September to October 2014 is the third consecutive month-on-month increase seen by SEEK, Australia’s leading online employment marketplace.

“New job ad volumes are now 13.5 per cent higher than October 2013. This is the strongest annual growth rate seen since the twelve months to June 2011, when the labour market was recovering from the global financial crisis,” says SEEK Managing Director, Joe Powell.

“New South Wales remains the strongest labour market by a considerable margin, however, consistent growth has also been seen in Western Australia in recent months.

“Despite the state’s exposure to the resources sector, Western Australia is showing strong signs of recovery. October 2014 saw a 2.6 per cent increase in new job ad growth – the state’s fifth consecutive monthly increase.

“Job ad growth in Western Australia has been driven by demand for labour in Education and Training, up 54 per cent over the 12 months, as well as Trades and Services which is up 53 per cent,” says Mr Powell.

“Over the past 12 months, new job ads for Design and Architecture have increased by 60 per cent, Trades and Services by 21 per cent and Banking and Financial Services by 19 per cent,” says Mr Powell.

Unsurprisingly, industries with close ties to the resources sector such as Engineering and Mining, Resources and Energy have seen declines in the number of jobs posted over the last 12 months.

15/09/2014

Australia experienced a strong 3.5 per cent increase in new jobs ads in August 2014, the greatest increase since January according to leading online employment marketplace, SEEK, following improved business and trading conditions across the country.

According to SEEK, the data suggests the economy is experiencing growth, led by the non-mining sectors.

In further positive news, year-on-year new job ads to August 2014 indicate that the strongest gains are being recorded in the largest labour markets by population. New South Wales saw 16.2 per cent growth followed by Victoria (up 13.9 per cent) and South Australia (up 13.5 per cent).

“The states with greatest exposure to mining, Western Australia and Queensland, have by comparison underperformed; but importantly, even these states have experienced year-on-year gains in new job ads” says Mr Powell.

The SEEK Employment Index, which measures the balance between demand for labour (New Job Ads) and supply (applications), fell 0.9 per cent in August. The lowering of the Index suggests that there is a strong supply of labour in each state.

23/07/2014

Can any of you recognise who Simon is sharing this photograph with?

10/07/2014

Our Managing Director Simon Stibbs catching up with Former West Coast Eagles coach John Worsfold at the recent Australian Institute of Management Sundowner

17/06/2014

Employment Law Matters, Read our interview with Rob Greig in Issue #13 of

http://bit.ly/1shKSid

Featured Articles Contact Edward George Today (08)94574566

05/06/2014

Meeting former Chief Marketing Officer of Facebook Randi Zuckerberg at the World Business Forum last week in Sydney

13/05/2014

“Toward the end of 2013, we saw signs that the labour market was showing strong confidence. It’s been encouraging to see the continuation of that confidence in 2014, despite the recent talks of the need for economic reform from the Federal Government,” says, Joe Powell, SEEK Managing Director.
SEEK’s data shows month-on-month new job growth can be seen in New South Wales (2.4 per cent), Victoria (1.3 per cent) and South Australia (1 per cent). New job ads declined by 3.6 per cent month-on-month in Western Australia, and 0.4 per cent in Queensland.
The strongest growth in applications occurred in those states that also had the biggest increases in new job ads, Mr Powell believes the job market could soon see new applicants entering the market.

“The more jobs that are available, the more confidence jobseekers will have to re-enter the market or take the next step in their career,” says Mr Powell.

Mr Powell says those considering a change in their professional life should keep an eye on how their sector is performing.

14/04/2014

“Over the past 4 years the Australian labour market has been negatively impacted by the slowdown in the mining sector. During this period we’ve seen the labour market in a state of change. We now feel like the market is starting to find its feet again, our data points to gradual signs of improvement. Compared to March 2010 SEEK New Job Ads are now 5% high in New South Wales and 7% higher in Victoria” says Joe Powell, SEEK Managing Director.

“Employment opportunities are looking promising across all states and territories in Australia, buoyed by low interest rates and a fiscal policy that supports domestic growth” says SEEK Managing Director, Joe Powell.

Mr Powell went on to say “It’s encouraging that candidates are exhibiting confidence in the market through exploring new opportunities and applying for roles. Our data shows that the number of applications per role is strong. To have the best chance of succeeding candidates should tailor their application to ensure they’re putting their best foot forward.”

Overall, 2014 has started on a positive note for candidates with the economy showing real growth despite the recent news of job losses. Furthermore, it is expected that the May Federal Budget announcement will provide long-awaited clarity on government spending and contracts, which will have a flow on to both jobseekers and hirers.

“Jobseekers should be feeling more confident that the current business environment offers great potential for those looking to take the next step in their career,” says Mr Powell.

However, SEEK does warn that there could be a future skills mismatch as jobseekers from flat and declining sectors, such as the manufacturing industry, come into the market to find work.
“For those who know that they will soon need to change roles or look at new industry sectors, now is the perfect time to look for new opportunities, determine what skills will be required, and where necessary start up-skilling,” concludes Mr Powell.

13/03/2014

The latest figures from SEEK, Australia’s leading employment marketplace shows that the number of new job ads placed with SEEK broadly stabilised in February, following steady growth in the last three months of 2013 and a surge in new job ads in January 2014.

SEEK Managing Director Joe Powell says, “The numbers we see in February point to the economic shift that is occurring from the resource states to the more populous states of the south east.
“Applications for jobs advertised on SEEK have risen strongly so far in 2014, rising by nearly 6% in the first two months of this year. This could be attributed to the pickup in job ads, the increase in consumer confidence and the increased engagement on mobile, over 20% of applications on SEEK now come from mobile devices”.

“The strong performance of the SEEK indicators in recent months is consistent with a range of positive economic indicators so far in 2014 including the consumer, housing and services sectors, as confirmed in the Australian National Accounts for the December quarter 2013. This however must be balanced against some of the negative forces at work we’re seeing; the decline in areas of manufacturing and the threats of Government cutbacks at both State and Federal level” said Mr Powell.

24/02/2014

New job ads (seasonally adjusted) rose by 6.4% for the month on a national basis, to be 9.0% higher than three months earlier (Figure 1a). This is the highest rate of quarterly growth since 2010. New job ads in January 2014 were also back to the same level as a year earlier, the first time that this has been so for two years. This strong growth in January was spread across all states and territories (Figure 1b), with the strongest growth in those mainland states (Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria) which experienced a decline in December 2013.

There are good reasons to be cautious about interpreting data over the holiday season. The actual number of transactions through the SEEK system fluctuates markedly through the Christmas, New Year and summer months, and there are limitations in the extent to which any seasonal adjustment process can fully capture the underlying factors. Some part of the increase in January 2014 may reflect uncaptured seasonal variations, especially that related to catch-up after the fall in both series in December 2013.

Nevertheless the upswing in the SEEK indicators is too large and too sustained to be explained by seasonal variations alone, and it seems increasingly likely that the Australian labour market passed a turning point in late 2013 and is now in recovery mode.

The SEEK data suggest that, at the present time, a strong performance in the consumer, housing and services sectors is outweighing the continued problems in manufacturing and the larger construction sector, as well as concerns about government cutbacks. This balance of forces is likely to differ from state to state, and data beyond the holiday season will provide a clearer view of likely labour market trends for 2014 as a whole.

22/01/2014

‘Hands-on’ and newly created product driven marketing opportunity. National focus with products servicing the highly competitive industrial, mining and oil and gas sectors
Significant online marketing focus, CRM utilisation and brochure development.
Working closely with the Company Directors

Digital & Search Marketing, Newly created position with a national reach. Highly successful industrial products company – Perth Petroleum.