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EMPLOYER demand for more staff is getting stronger, with the number of job advertisements up for the sixth consecutive month.
Job ads on the internet and in newspapers rose a seasonally adjusted 0.7 per cent in November and were up 8.9 per cent for the year, figures from ANZ show.
Job ads have now trended higher for 13 months, says ANZ, thanks to a number of forward indicators pointing to improved labour market conditions.
The improvement in November was driven by internet job ads, which rose 0.9 per cent in the month, to be nearly 10 per cent high year on year.
This offset a 5.4 per cent decline newspaper job ads in the month.
ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said that employment growth was gradually improving and the unemployment rate was stabilising.
“Our broad assessment is that labour market conditions have improved but growth headwinds over the next few years will likely limit the prospects for any material improvement,†he said.
Mr Hogan expects economic growth to stay moderate in 2015, which would prevent employment growth from gaining momentum.
Gross domestic product (GDP) figures released last week, showed economic growth in the September quarter was only 0.3 per cent, for an annual rate of 2.7 per cent.
“While activity in the non-mining sectors of the Australian economy is slowly improving, growth overall looks set to remain moderate for some time,†Mr Hogan said.
“Weaker commodity prices are likely to put further pressure on government finances and further constrain the ability for businesses to increase wages; another reason to believe a continuation of soft wages growth ahead seems likely.â€
Mr Hogan was confident that an improvement in business investment had begun but slower economic growth would keep the Reserve Bank’s cash rate at its record low level of 2.5 per cent for longer than previously anticipated.
“While we acknowledge some risk of a policy easing in the first half of 2015, we think the most likely scenario is a long period of rates on hold, with the first rate hike in November 2015,†he said.
Since the weak GDP figures last week several economists have changed their forecasts to include a rate rise by the RBA next year.
Official jobs figures for November will be released on Thursday, with the unemployment rate expected to rise to 6.3 per cent, according to an AAP survey of 15 economists.
The number of people with jobs is expected to rise by 15,000 after a gain of 24,100 in October.
With AAP