Online job ads increase for labourers and machinery operators and drivers

Labourers and machinery operators and drivers were the only major occupational groups to record increases in online job advertisements for the year to July 2020, according to the National Skills Commission.

Online advertisements for machinery operators and drivers were up by 2.9% (or 230 job advertisements), while online advertisements for labourers were up by 2.4% (240 job advertisements), according to the Commission’s Vacancy Report* for July 2020, which was released on 19 August.

“At the national level, recruitment activity for these occupational groups has now returned to pre COVID-19 levels,” the Commission reported. “However, this recovery is not consistent across Australia.”

While the Commission found that many States recorded increases in online job advertisements across many occupations in the month of July, online advertisements for these States were still down substantially over the year. For example, although Tasmania’s online job advertisements rose by 11.5 per cent for the month of July, they were still down by 11.2 per cent for the year.

In Victoria, where restrictions were ramping up in July instead of easing, online job ads fell by 6.5 per cent for the month and a massive 40.8 per cent for the year.

According to the Commission, “Sales Assistants and Salespersons (up by 980 job advertisements, or 19.2%) recorded the largest increase over the month, followed by Medical Practitioners and Nurses (920 job advertisements, 15.7%), ICT Professionals (780 job advertisements, 12.1%), General-Inquiry Clerks, Call Centre Workers, and Receptionists (640 job advertisements, 7.9%) and Corporate Managers (530 job advertisements, 11.1%).

“Despite the gains observed during the month, 35 of the 48 detailed occupational groups recorded falls in job advertisements over the year to July 2020,” the Commission reported.

You can find more details in the Vacancy Report July 2020 here.

*The Vacancy Report reports changes in the monthly Internet Vacancy Index, which counts online job advertisements newly lodged on SEEK, CareerOne and Australian JobSearch during the month. It does not include advertisements in newspapers or on jobs boards or employer websites.