Increase in job ads in September thanks to busy festive season hiring

MORE jobs were up for grabs in most states and territories last month compared with the same time last year, SEEK data shows. And the reason is the season to be jolly.

September is the peak hiring month of the year for retailers, including Jeanswest.

MORE jobs were up for grabs in most states and territories last month compared with the same time last year, SEEK data shows.

The number of job advertisements increased or remained steady year-on-year everywhere bar Western Australia in September.

It finds festive season hiring in hospitality/tourism and retail helped boost job ads by a national average of 2.7 per cent.

SA and the ACT recorded the biggest increase in total job ads year-on-year, at 13.2 and 13.1 per cent respectively, followed by the NT (up 10.1 per cent), NSW (up 6.8 per cent) and VIC (up 5.3 per cent).

Job ads listed on SEEK remained steady in QLD and TAS, however Western Australia recorded a 19.1 per cent decline.

SEEK Australia and New Zealand managing director Michael Ilczynski said recruitment for the busy festive summer season in the hospitality and tourism industries, as well as retail, peaked every September.

Last month it helped drive the increase in job ads nationally, he said.

“When we analysed our SEEK job ad data for the hospitality and tourism and retail industries, over a three-year period, on average 10 per cent of the total job ads over that time for both industries fell in September,” he said.

But it is not too late to find work in the two sectors, as October also typically has a large number of vacancies advertised.

In the last three years 9.8 per cent of all retail ads and 9.5 per cent of hospitality and tourism ads for the year were placed in the second month of spring.

This year chefs/cooks are in greatest demand in hospitality and tourism, followed by management and waiting staff, while retail assistants, store managers and department/assistant managers are required in retail.

Jeanswest recruitment officer Stephanie Chara said September was its peak hiring month to give new staff enough time to gain a solid understanding of the business before the busy sales season started.

“In September we most commonly recruit for part-time and casual roles, and the hardest positions to fill are for store managers, due to the extra layer of responsibility involved,” she said.

Originally published as Increase in job ads in September thanks to busy festive season hiring