- Industry trends
- Trends across the country
- Salary trends
- Industry growth: Australia’s biggest employer
Industry trends
Job ads on SEEK recorded a rise of 16.5% in April compared to the same time last year and experienced a modest month-on-month growth of 1%.
SEEK data has revealed that every industry recorded positive year-on-year growth this month, with Mining, Resources & Energy leading the way with 62% growth compared to April 2017.
Community Services & Development was also a key contributor, recording 49% year-on-year growth.
Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales were responsible for the majority of the new job ads in Community Services & Development (82%). The key occupation driving growth in Community Services was Aged & Disability Support, which made up 33% of the new job ads in April 2018 compared to 12 months prior. This was followed by Employment Services (27%) and Child Welfare (16%).
The Productivity Commission forecasts that Australia may need almost one million aged care workers by 2050 if it is to meet the anticipated demand from ageing baby boomers.
Kendra Banks, Managing Director SEEK ANZ says the strong growth in community services has predominately been driven by a high demand for aged and disability support workers. “This is thanks in part to Australia’s ageing population,” Banks says.
“It’s also driven by the country-wide roll out of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) which has had a positive impact on job ad growth over the past two years.”
Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that around 50,000 jobs were created as a result of the NDIS in 2017, and another 100,000 may be expected by 2020. This is supported by SEEK data that shows a significant increase in new job ads in both Community Services and Healthcare in April 2018 compared to the same time last year.
Trends across the country
Year-on-year job ad growth was recorded across every state and territory in April, with Tasmania topping the rankings with 35% growth compared to April 2017. The Apple Isle’s growth was largely driven by growth in the Insurance & Superannuation, Human Resources & Recruitment and Legal industries.
The Northern Territory also experienced significant growth of 24.2% year-on-year, while Victoria recorded 20.9% growth.
There were only two regions below the national average of seasonally adjusted year-on-year growth in April: New South Wales, where job ad growth was up 12.8%, and the ACT which saw an 8.3% growth in job ads.
The following map details the job ad growth experienced across the nation compared to 12 months ago.
Salary trends
The average annual salary came in at $84,686 in April, signalling 3.1% growth compared to the same time last year. There was also year-on-year monthly salary growth across all but one region, with the Northern Territory recording a 0.7% decline.
Tasmania experienced the greatest growth, with average salaries increasing by 5.9% to $77,207 compared to 12 months ago. Western Australia followed closely with 5.4% growth, with average salaries increasing to $87,765.
Industry growth: Australia’s biggest employer
Healthcare is Australia’s biggest employer and it is getting even bigger, accounting for 13.7% of the entire workforce (as of February 2018).
According to the Department of Jobs and Small Business ‘Australian Jobs 2018’ report, the Healthcare & Social Assistance industry is projected to grow a further 16.1% over the next five years
SEEK new job ad growth is directionally in line with this projection, and new job ads have increased significantly since the NDIS was launched in its trial phase in 2013.
Read more: Why the healthcare industry is Australia’s biggest employer
