Overall, job ads in December went down 1.2% month-on-month, and are were down 3.5% year-on-year.
“Job ads continued trending down in December, rounding out the softening that began in August and bringing the trend decline to 3.5% year-on-year,” said Blair Chapman, SEEK senior economist.
“Hiring typically slows down ahead of the Christmas and New Year period and the 2025 slowdown was a little bigger than we’ve seen historically.”
The biggest drop in monthly job postings was recorded in the legal industry, with a 3.4% decline. This was followed by the retail and consumer products (-2.6%) and then the insurance and superannuation (-2.2%) industries.
“January traditionally brings renewed momentum into the employment market, as businesses reemerge re-emerge from holiday mode,” Chapman said.