By Kate Southam

New research shows jobs ads online and in newspapers continue to creating further upward pressure on salaries and wages.

The release of positive employment surveys this week follow Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan’s projections that 380,000 jobs would be added to the workforce over the next 18 months reducing the unemployment rate to around 4.5 per cent.

The Advantage Job Index was released today revealing its third successive monthly increase. Job ads grew by 2.02 per cent in October – up 8.34 per cent for the quarter seasonally adjusted and up nearly 30 per cent when compared to October 2009.

According to the ANZ month survey, jobs advertised in Australian newspapers and online rose for the sixth straight month in October.

The ANZ monthly report shows the total number of jobs advertised in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose 0.6 per cent in October, to a seasonally adjusted average of 179,040 per week. This follows an upwardly revised 1.1 per cent increase in September.

However, newspapers ads fell overall by 0.3 per cent in October – the fifth fall in newspaper advertising in seven months. In annual growth terms, newspaper job ads in boom state Western Australia are up 50.9 per cent on October last year and 12.3 per cent up in the Northern Territory. Jobs ads are also rising in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, and the ACT but falling in Queensland and SA due to the success of the Internet in those two states.

Advantage director Robert Olivier warns that the rise in mortgage repayments will increase the Consumer Price Index prompting employees to look at to maintaining their standard of living via a salary review.

“Now that the market is more in favour of the employee, they have the bargaining power – options elsewhere – to ensure expectations can be met,” he says.

The mining and resources sector remains strong and hospitality and tourism is holding up well but the strong dollar has impacted exporters and the education sector.  
Of the 16 sectors measured by the Advantage Index, the number of jobs rose in thirteen of those sectors in October

Accounting jobs were up by 6.3 per cent with professional and clerical commercial roles in greater demand that professional practice roles; engineering and mining jobs were up 5.3 per cent and advertising and media jobs up 3.71 per cent.

Human resources roles dropped 2.87 per cent, legal jobs were down 2.78 per cent and the number of IT jobs fell 1.54 per cent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the official unemployment figures on Thursday. Economists are tipping the rate will drop from 5.1 per cent to 5 per cent.

Article from CareerOne.com.au November 9, 2010.