There’s a very good reason Australians aren’t moving jobs at the moment. It’s tough out there.
Job seekers are facing some of the most challenging times in recent memory when applying for a new role. While specific industries are absolutely booming, most are seeing a fall in job advertisements, and a greater number of people competing for them.
According to the latest Employment Report from jobs platform SEEK, job ads declined 0.4 per cent in July. While the rate of decline slowed, that takes the fall across the economy to 6 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
“Applications per job ad have increased for the past seven months as job ads declined,” the report said. “They are now at their highest level on record.”
RELATED
“Job ads are declining at a slower pace and across a slightly narrower range of industries,” SEEK’s chief economist Dr Blair Chapman said.
Those looking for a new job have spoken of being dispirited seeing hundreds of others seemingly apply for roles according to trackers on online platforms like LinkedIn, while employers have told Yahoo Finance that the rise of generative AI tools has also helped fuel the number of applications as people use the technology to fire off more cover letters and CVs.
MORE: Senior HR specialist rejected by AI amid ‘zero touch’ trend
It comes as new data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Aussies are changing roles at the lowest level in history with the term ‘job hugging’ entering the cultural zeitgeist.
But there is one line of work that is offering plenty of opportunity at the moment.
The most in demand job in Australia right now (that no one likes)
The Australian public don’t seem to like data centres very much as they begin popping up in suburbs in our major cities. While NIMBYs push back, politicians are also grappling with the issue amid fears of the electricity and water demand they come with, including the South Australian premier announcing a royal commission into AI this week.
But at least currently, they are offering plenty of jobs.
“There is notable, sustained growth in the large construction and trade-based industries, with rising demand specifically for roles in the planning, construction and maintenance of data centres,” Chapman said.
“South Australia has emerged as a powerhouse in this space, with data centre job ads more than tripling over the past year and driving sustained annual job ad growth in the state for the past eighteen months.”
