SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian job advertisements fell in July, dragged down by the education and retail sectors, but that only partly offset the rise in the previous month and suggested the labour market is easing gradually.
Data from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and employment website Indeed on Tuesday showed the number of job ads fell 1% in July from June, when they rose by a downwardly revised 1.6%.
Job ads in July were 0.1% higher than a year earlier, and remained 14.4% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
“Still, elevated levels in our job ads series suggest a substantial loosening of the labour market is unlikely,” said Aaron Luk, an economist at ANZ.
“The series remains within a tight 114–117 range and has largely been tracking sideways since mid-2024.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia still judges the labour market to be close to full employment, although there are fears the job market may be showing some cracks after the economy added fewer than expected jobs in June and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%.
The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter-point to 3.6% next Tuesday after the closely watched quarterly inflation data surprised on the low side. That followed a shock decision in July to hold rates steady when the market had priced in a cut.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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