Job adverts in decline

Job adverts declined last month and were down on March last year, but the figures are blown around by the timing of Easter.

ANZ Bank's job ads series saw a 4.5 per cent decline in newspaper ads compared with February, partially offset by a 1.5 per cent rise in internet ads. Newspaper ads were 7.2 per cent lower than in March last year.

Newspapers do not publish on Good Friday and Easter Saturday is an atypical Saturday for advertising.

In the 1990s, the vacancy rate rose steadily as unemployment fell.

Since 2000, the number of newspaper ads has broadly gone sideways while unemployment has fallen.

Internet ads, by contrast, have increased from about 10,000 a month in 2000 to nearly 18,000 now, which is more than a third of all job adverts.