ANZ jobs index rises 4.4% in September

Job advertisements in newspapers and the internet rose by 4.4% in September, the fastest rate since November 2007, according to the latest ANZ jobs survey.

Total job ads were 8.7% higher than July’s cyclical low point, but 44.9 % lower than in September 2008.

The figures reveal the number of job ads in major metropolitan newspapers jumped 3.7%, following a 5.5% rise in August, to a weekly average of 8,929. Meanwhile, internet job ads climbed 4.5% in a second consecutive month of growth to a weekly average of 127,141.

“These data provide the best evidence we have received to date that the labour market (and the economy more generally) is entering an early recovery phase following this downturn,” ANZ acting chief economist Warren Hogan said in a statement.

“Australian economic activity has been remarkably resilient in recent months, particularly in some of our largest employing industries such as retail trade, health services, government and construction.”

The data raises speculation the Reserve Bank of Australia will raise interest rates at tomorrow’s policy meeting, with Hogan saying the figures also give hope for unemployment figures.

“Today’s numbers confirm our expectation that the pace of decline in employment will not be as severe as envisaged six months ago,” he said. “We expect the Australian unemployment rate to peak at around 7.25% in mid-2010.”

Meanwhile, the latest Olivier Job Index found the number of jobs advertised in Australia rose 3.58% in August. Full-time work was up 3.4% and part-time work up 5.3% in the last month, the report found.

“These figures look like a ‘U curve’ forming, following August’s 2.43% rise,” Olivier Group director Robert Olivier said in a statement.

“The figure reinforces a current sense of business optimism as well as the case for a rate rise tomorrow.”