Covid-battered business calls for workers

NSW employers have embarked on a hiring blitz, with the number of jobs in the state advertised on Seek surging by 20 per cent last month.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra says employers in his sector ‘have swiftly moved to recruit for the all-important Christmas trading period’. Picture: Nikki Short

NSW employers have embarked on a hiring blitz ahead of the easing of health restrictions, with the number of jobs in the state advertised on Seek surging by 20 per cent last month.

The September vacancies data from the online jobs site also ­revealed a 20-30 per cent national surge in recruitment activity in the hospitality, tourism and retail sectors, a sign the battered industries are looking forward to a surge in demand once stay-at-home orders and border restrictions are lifted before the Christmas and summer break.

The Seek job ads numbers ­revealed a national 6 per cent lift in September against the previous month, led by the 21 per cent jump in NSW and with a 7.6 per cent increase in Queensland the next largest lift among the states and territories.

Despite the disruption from Delta – which as left hundreds of thousands of workers stood down – there were 57 per cent more job ads last month than a year earlier, and 25 per cent more than in September 2019, the data revealed.

By sector, the number of hospitality and tourism job vacancies surged 29 per cent last month, while the Seek figures also showed a 21 per cent jump in retail industry vacancies.

Every other sector recorded a lift in vacancies in the month, but at a much more subdued pace, ranging from a 1 per cent rise in IT job ads, to a 3 per cent lift in trades and services vacancies. The volume of job ads stayed far above pre-pandemic levels across all sectors.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said employers in his sector “have swiftly moved to recruit for the all-important Christmas trading period when most discretionary retailers make up to two-thirds of their profit”.

 

And with supply disruptions and lockdowns frustrating shoppers over the past few months, Mr Zahra said retailers were getting ready to “welcome consumers back in-store in droves”.

“While most retailers don’t ­expect to make up the losses from the lockdowns, most are planning for Christmas to be their shining light,” he said.

But Mr Zahra also said “filling frontline vacancies remains a big issue with a low unemployment rate, closed international borders and unvaccinated staff impacting fill rates”.

The Seek data showed that the demand for labour continued to outstrip supply, with 35 per cent fewer applications per vacancy than a year earlier.

Businesses such as pubs, restaurants, gyms and hairdressers in locked down areas of NSW will be able to open their doors to fully vaccinated customers from next Monday, as part of the state’s road map out of Delta lockdowns.

A further swath of restrictions will then be eased when 80 per cent of people are fully inoculated against Covid-19, which health authorities have said was likely to happen about a fortnight later.

Melbourne is due to exit lockdown for fully vaccinated residents only once 80 per cent of the state’s adult population have ­received two jabs in late October. Victoria was the only jurisdiction to record monthly fall in job ads, falling by 2.6 per cent.

The next weakest lift in job ads was in the ACT, which has ­endured a shorter, but even more restrictive lockdown. Vacancies in the capital territory climbed by 2.1 per cent in September, and it was the only jurisdiction to have fewer job ads than before the pandemic.