We regularly update this report to track the pandemic’s effects on the labour market. Our methodology changed at the start of 2021, as explained in the methodology note at the end of the post.

Job postings on Indeed are a real-time measure of labour market activity. On March 26 they were tracking 32.2% ahead of their level on February 1 last year, our pre-pandemic baseline, after adjusting for seasonal trends. 

Postings are up from +26.2% a fortnight ago and +20.7% at the end of February. 

Line graph showing job postings on indeed australia
Line graph titled “Job postings on Indeed AU.” With a vertical axis ranging from -60% to 40%, Indeed tracked the percent change in job postings along a horizontal axis ranging from 1 February 2020 to 26 March 2021. As of March 26, 2021 job postings were tracking 32.2% ahead of their level on February 1, 2020. Caption added post-publication.

In 2020, job postings plunged from mid-March until late April, falling by half, and then gradually improved over the remainder of the year. Victoria’s lengthy second lockdown slowed the recovery, creating a temporary divergence between Victoria and the rest of Australia. Thankfully, there appears to be no lasting impact on Victorian recruitment and short-term lockdowns in New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria have had minimal hiring impact. 

In the past two-weeks, job postings continued to improve across every state and territory. Posting numbers are healthy across the country and well above pre-pandemic levels. 

Compared with last year’s baseline, postings are up 38.5% in Western Australia and 37.6% in New South Wales. The recent surge in New South Wales, Australia’s largest economy, is a welcome development ahead of JobKeeper finishing up. 

Postings in Victoria increased slightly, now up 27.7% compared with February 1 last year. Postings in Queensland are tracking similarly. 

bar graph showing job postings on Indeed AU by state
Bar chart titled “Job postings on Indeed AU by state.” With a vertical axis ranging from 0% to 50%, Indeed compared the percent change in job postings between eight states and territories with different coloured bars representing 1 February 2020 to 26 March 2021. As of 26 March 2021, job postings were up 38.5% in Western Australia and 37.6% in New South Wales compared with the 1 February 2020 trends. Caption added post-publication.

Hiring continues to improve in most occupational groups

Australia’s hiring recovery has been impressive and, although there are some occupations lagging behind, most are heading in the right direction. 

The top three occupations were unchanged compared with a fortnight ago. Job postings for cleaning & sanitation roles are up 106% compared with their baseline on February 1 last year. Postings for loading & stocking and logistics support are up 92% and 89%, respectively. All three occupations have experienced strong postings growth over the past two-weeks. 

Construction hiring continues to improve, now up 66%, while postings for food preparation roles are also healthy, up 62%. Both occupations have struggled during the pandemic, relying heavily on JobKeeper subsidies. 

The hiring recovery remains slowest in hospitality & tourism. Hospitality postings are down 23% against their baseline, however, they have improved 10.6% points compared with a fortnight ago. 

Postings for most of the ‘worst performing’ occupations are either above last year’s baseline or have improved recently. That indicates that the hiring recovery continues to broaden. 

Table showing australian recruitment trends
Table titled “Australian recruitment trends.” Indeed listed the percent change in AU job postings from 1 February 2020 to 26 March 2021 among various occupations divided into best performing and worst performing. As of 26 March 2021, job postings for cleaning and sanitation roles were up 106% compared with their baseline on February 1, 2020. Caption added post-publication.

Australia’s hiring recovery continued uninterrupted during March, building on the strong gains from earlier this year. The end of the JobKeeper wage subsidy on March 28 represents a major obstacle on the road to recovery. Combined with an early Easter, we can expect postings to moderate somewhat during April. 

Methodology

All figures in this blogpost are the percentage change in seasonally-adjusted job postings since February 1, 2020, using a seven-day trailing average. February 1 last year is our pre-pandemic baseline. We seasonally adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Each series, including the national trend, occupational sectors, and sub-national geographies, is seasonally adjusted separately. 

We adopted this new methodology in January 2021 and now use it to report all historical data. Historical numbers have been revised and may differ significantly from originally reported values. The new methodology applies a detrended seasonal adjustment factor to the percentage change in job postings. In contrast, our previous methodology used the 2019 change between February 1 and the reported date as the adjustment factor, which implicitly included both a seasonality component and the underlying trend. 

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.