One of Australia’s largest job-finding sites, SEEK, has published statistics today showing a marked downturn in new job postings, with the largest falls in the tourism and hospitality industry.
SEEK’s figures for October show that a gradual decline in job ad postings increased markedly last month, with overall listings down five per cent and tourism and hospitality listings down 11.6 per cent in October alone.
“Despite the proximity to the busy summer season, hospitality and tourism recorded the greatest drop in ad volume, likely due to inflation and the rising cost of living putting continued pressure on businesses,” said SEEK’s managing director for Australia and New Zealand, Kendra Banks.
“There is still increasing interest among candidates to find a new role, as applications per job ad rose in almost every industry and in all of the largest states.
“With two months until the end of the year we would expect both hiring and application activity to slow over the coming months, before picking up again early next year.”
For event businesses looking to hire, this might be the right time to scoop up valuable talent while there’s a dip in competition for staff.
Data from temporary and casual staffing business SideKicker, which has a strong focus on the hospitality, events and exhibitions sectors, also released today, backs up the statistics from SEEK.
The latest release of the SideKicker Jobs Index shows an overall drop of 20 per cent year on year in shifts per business, with a 36 per cent drop in the hospitality sector.
“The anticipated seasonal kick during the June to September quarter in the Hospitality and Events did not occur. In fact, the total number of shifts only grew by 11% QoQ compared to pre-COVID levels, which had grown by 50% QoQ. This could be a result of interest rates dampening demand within the overall sector,” said Thomas Amos, CEO and co-founder of Sidekicker.
