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IT job advertisements across the country declined during November, down 6.5 per cent.
This is according to job advertising website Seek’s latest Employee Dashboard report.
That number fell considerably in Tasmania on a month-on-month basis, dropping 28.5 per cent during November, despite experiencing 19.8 per cent growth during the October period.
Meanwhile, October’s other highlight, the NT, continued its growth streak and rose by 8.6 per cent during the month, although it was slightly below the previous reporting period’s 10.5 per cent.
The only other region to record growth was the ACT, which rose by 13.6 per cent – a considerable jump from the October period’s growth of 4.6 per cent.
The rest of the states recorded IT ad listing declines, with NSW dropping 7.3 per cent, Victoria and Queensland each falling by 5.4 per cent, Western Australia declining 4.5 per cent and South Australia down by 2.4 per cent.
“Job ad volumes for ICT roles did not peak to the extent that other industries did earlier this year,” said Kendra Banks, managing director for SEEK Australia and New Zealand.
“Demand for talent in this industry was historically high in 2018 and 2019 and while it did rise again late last year and earlier this year, has fallen significantly since.
“Applications per job ad fell for the first time in seven months in November, which is not unusual this close to Christmas.”
The IT industry’s increase in job listings comes as overall job ads for the nation continued their decline with a drop of 4.9 per cent, expanding the month’s prior fall of 3.7 per cent.
In response to the overall decline, Banks reiterated it is usual for hiring activity to slow down during the holiday period.
“After two years of holiday seasons and hiring impacted by COVID-19, this year appears to have returned to a more normal seasonal pattern, where job advertising slows from October to November,” she added.
“Year-on-year comparisons are impacted by last year’s unusually high recruitment activity, as lockdowns lifted in New South Wales and Victoria.
“November’s monthly drop is coming from a very high base, and so job ads in all but three industries remain higher than November 2019 levels. As a result of the monthly decline, there has been an increase in applications per job ad in quite a few industries, including hospitality and tourism, administration and office support and sales,” she added.
