Australia job ads fall for fourth straight month amid easing labour demand

Australia’s job market seems to be taking a clear step back. New data released on Monday shows that job advertisements fell for the fourth month running in October, adding to the evidence that the market is finally loosening up.

The monthly data from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) and Indeed showed that the number of job ads dropped by 2.2% in October, following a revised 3.5% fall in September.

The decline wasn't just a monthly blip; job ads in October were also 7.4% lower than they were a year ago. The slowdown was broad, affecting around 60% of all occupation categories. The education sector saw a large drop in job postings, which more than cancelled out the strong hiring seen in retail and food services as businesses staff up for the Christmas period.

RBA Faces a Mixed Picture

This slowdown in hiring is happening at a tricky moment for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The market was widely expecting the RBA to keep its interest rates steady this week after seeing inflation surge recently, a surge that crushed any remaining hopes for a rate cut this year. Markets are now guessing there will be only one more cut to the 3.6% cash rate, and that won't happen until May 2026.

The cooling job market complicates the RBA’s picture. Although the central bank recently downplayed a spike in the unemployment rate (which hit 4.5% in September), saying the labour market was still "a little tight", the continuous drop in job ads suggests companies are definitely becoming more cautious about taking on new staff. This cooling trend should eventually ease wage pressure, which is exactly what the RBA wants to see.