Latest news with #BlairChapman
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Applications per job ad higher than ever on SEEK as Aussies get second jobs, re-enter workforce
More Australians are competing for available jobs than ever before as people re-enter the workforce and take up second jobs amid the high cost of living, according to the country's largest online employment marketplace. The latest data from SEEK released on Friday shows applications per job ad are now at the highest level on record — even higher than the previous record set during the Covid pandemic in 2020 when job ads were at their lowest. The seasonally adjusted data found applications per job ad increased 2.1 per cent in May compared to the previous month, and were up 16.4 per cent compared to the same time last year. SEEK senior economist Dr Blair Chapman said the new record was due to an increased candidate pool rather than candidates applying for more roles. 'Over the past couple of years more Australians have taken on a second job, or are looking to do so, and more workers have entered or re-entered the workforce,' Dr Chapman said. 'This is likely in response to increased living costs, and as a result, competition is extremely strong for most available roles.' Job ads fell 5.3 per cent in June compared to the same period last year. 'With the year-on-year decline in ad volume hovering around 5.5 per cent over the past quarter, this is the most stable job ads have been for some time,' Dr Chapman noted. In June, the Northern Territory was the only state or territory to record month-on-month job ad growth (up 3.7 per cent). The ACT recorded the largest month-on-month drop in job ads (down 7.8 per cent), attributed to falling demand for workers in the 'information & communication technology' category and 'healthcare & medical' category, as well as other industries. The ACT also recorded the largest annual decline, down 22.7 per cent. Ad volumes for 'information & communication technology' are at the lowest on record nationally, falling below Covid levels. It was the construction sector that month-on-month recorded the most increased demand for workers across the country. As for the salaries being advertised for available jobs, Dr Chapman said both annual and monthly growth was at its slowest since 2021. However, he added: 'The annual growth in average advertised salaries is still outpacing the growth in prices. 'Combined with recent cuts in mortgage rates, existing borrowers who have switched jobs should be able to purchase more goods and services, save more, or pay down their mortgage faster. 'The increase in the National Minimum Wage and modern award wage rates of 3.5 per cent from July 1 should support advertised salary growth in the near term.'
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
10 Aussie jobs with the fastest growing salaries paying up to $165,000 a year: 'High wages'
The jobs with the fastest growing salaries in Australia have been revealed, with some jobs raking in more than $165,000 a year. Average Australian wages have risen just 3.4 per cent, but there are some advertised jobs demonstrating pay rises of more than 25 per cent. New data from job platform SEEK found analysts working in government and defence were seeing the biggest wage growth. It found salaries for advertised jobs had increased 26.8 per cent over the past year, bringing the average salary to $130,117. Taxation consultants took second place, with advertised salaries rising an average of 24.5 per cent to reach $95,375 a year. Operations analysts in banking and financial services were next, with an average 21.1 per cent increase in salary to $98,301 a year. RELATED ATO reveals 10 highest paying jobs in Australia: '$472,475 a year' Superannuation 'red alert' for millions as $1 billion in retirement savings feared lost Woolworths payment change hits dozens of supermarkets The highest paying job to make the list was electrical engineers working in mining, resources and energy. The job has seen advertised salaries increase 18.3 per cent over the past year to $165,917 on average. SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman said the job had seen a relatively rapid growth in advertised salaries. 'The mining sector pays some of the highest wages of any sector and they are increasingly competing with renewable energy providers for roles like electrical engineers, which is likely driving them to offer high wages to keep and attract workers into the sector,' he said. Demand for project administrators in the construction sector have also increased, with salaries up 16.8 per cent to $92,788 on average. "An increase in building approvals and commencements, which were sitting around decade lows at the beginning of 2024, alongside ongoing infrastructure projects, has likely driven an increase in the competition for project administrators," Chapman said. The SEEK data is based on average advertised salaries, comparing February to April, 2024 with February to April, 2025. Here are the jobs with the top 10 fastest-growing salaries, and how much they have increased on average over the past year: Analyst (government and defence): $130,117 up 26.8 per cent Taxation consultation (accounting): $95,375 up 24.5 per cent Operations analyst (banking and financial services: $98,301 up 21.1 per cent Maintenance manager (manufacturing, transport and logistics): $146,613 up 19 per cent Electrical engineer (mining, resources and energy): $165,917 up 18.3 per cent Project administrator (construction): $92,788 up 16.8 per cent Finisher (trades and services): $90,695 up 16.6 per cent Customer service representative (retail and consumer products): $64,027 up 16.2 per cent Membership consultant (sport and recreation): $68,435 up 16.1 per cent Assistant (hospitality and tourism): $70,762 up 15.6 per cent The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) also recently revealed the highest paying jobs in Australia, based on tax return details from the 2022-23 financial year. Surgeons were crowned the winners, earning an average of $472,475 a year. Other medical professions also dominated the list, with anaesthetists in second place with average earnings of $447,193. Here's the top 10 highest paying jobs: Surgeon $472,475 Anaesthetists $447,193 Financial dealer $355,233 Internal medicine specialist $342,457 Psychiatrist $286,146 Other medical practitioners $259,802 Mining engineer $206,423 Judicial or other legal professional $206,408 Chief executive officer or managing director $194,987 Financial investment advisor or manager $191,986 For comparison, the average Australian income was $74,240 a year, while the median income was $55,868 a in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The surprising jobs with the fastest growing salaries - as economist reveals the AI truth all workers need to know
White-collar jobs most at risk of being replaced by AI have surprisingly experienced the fastest double-digit growth in salaries. Service jobs, rather than occupations requiring manual labour, made up nine of the top 10 roles that have had the biggest annual increase in advertised pay levels. SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman told Daily Mail Australia said AI was in fact creating more demand for professional roles provided the technology makes workers more efficient during a productivity crisis. 'What a lot of people have been missing in the AI conversation is that AI is there to make people more productive so, yes, it can do a lot of the tasks but that means a person using AI is able to produce more and do more,' he said. 'They're actually more productive so they're actually more valuable to the company. 'There are, in most roles, going to need to be some human intervention still.' Tax accountants saw average advertised pay surge 24.5 per cent to $95,375 based on positions on SEEK in April. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman told Daily Mail Australia said AI was creating more demand for white collar roles provided the technology could make professionals more efficient during a productivity crisis 'The one tax consultant can now do multiple client returns, as an example, in a day rather than maybe one or two,' Mr Chapman said. Analyst roles in the Department of Defence and the federal public services have seen a 26.8 per cent surge in advertised pay to $130,117. Geopolitical uncertainty has meant AI could in fact help intelligence analysts sift through a lot more data. 'You think about an intelligence analyst trying to analyse thousands of web pages - now AI can do that and flag the most pertinent ones for humans to assess,' he said. Meanwhile, high immigration levels are fuelling demand for housing but local licensing requirements means Australian citizens are more likely to get construction jobs. 'There are barriers to entry for foreign labour market participants to actually come in and add to supply in those roles,' Mr Chapman said. The requirement for local construction and trade licences saw a 16.6 per cent increase in advertised salaries to $90,695 for finishers on building projects. Australia's transition to renewable energy is also creating demand for electrical engineers in the energy space with their salaries soaring by 18.3 per cent to an average of $165,917. 'We've got the renewable energy push which is leading to a lot of demand for electrical engineers,' Mr Chapman said. At the lower end of the pay scale, shop assistants saw their pay levels rise by 16.2 per cent to $64,027. Hospitality job ads saw a 15.6 per cent increase to $70,762 for assistant roles. This was occurring as demand for cafe and restaurant meals continued to increase, even more than three years after Covid lockdowns ended. 'During Covid, people weren't going out as much as they were now there's been a bit of a resurgence in hospitality, especially as there has been a substitution in say international travel to domestic travel and that has encouraged and created more demand for hospitality,' Mr Chapman said. But in some sectors, advertised pay levels have been growing well below the overall wage price index of 3.4 per cent, despite unemployment still being low at 4.1 per cent. Manufacturing jobs saw an increase of just 2.6 per cent with Australia now focused on smaller-scale assembly. 'Heavy and medium industrial manufacturing: we stopped doing a lot of that,' Mr Chapman said. 'A lot of manufacturing now is local needs - it's been a big compositional change in manufacturing in Australia.' Technology, however, is still a threat to some sectors more than others with advertising, arts and media jobs seeing a 0.1 per cent annual decline in advertised salaries, with the likes of Google and Facebook continuing to take advertising revenue away from traditional media.
SBS Australia
19-06-2025
- Business
- SBS Australia
Australia's unemployment rate set to remain steady at 4.1 per cent
Australia's jobless rate is expected to remain low, while those seeking new work are likely to receive a boost to their pay packets. Labour force figures for May, to be released on Thursday, are tipped to show the unemployment rate holds steady at 4.1 per cent. Economists predict about 20,000 new jobs were added to the economy for the month of May, following a bumper increase of 89,000 in April. With the labour force participation rate also set to remain unchanged at 67.1 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are poised to show a tightening of the jobs market. Listed salaries have increased by 3.6 per cent for the year to May, according to a report by online job site Seek. The site's advertised salary index showed growth in pay rates for new positions has remained steady over the past year. But monthly growth in May was just 0.2 per cent, the smallest one-month increase since October. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the increase in wages advertised was a welcome rise. "The growth in average advertised salaries is currently outpacing living costs, which is good news for those switching employers as they are likely gaining a real wage increase," he said. "This means they can purchase more goods and services or save some of their additional earnings." Treasurer Jim Chalmers said reducing unemployment levels had also been accompanied by a decrease in inflation. "No major advanced economy has combined unemployment in the low 4s with inflation under 2.5 and three years of continuous growth," he said in an address at the National Press Club on Wednesday. "We know this welcome progress in the national aggregate data doesn't always translate into how people are feeling and faring in local communities. But real wages are growing again." Chalmers has flagged potential tax reform during his second term in the role, which will be examined at a productivity summit to be held in Canberra in August. "This is all about testing the country's reform appetite. "I am prepared to do my bit, the government is prepared to do its bit, and what we'll find out in the course of the next few months is whether everyone is prepared to do their bit as well."
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Unemployment to hold steady as pay packets swell
Australia's jobless rate is tipped to remain low, while those seeking new work are in line for a boost to their pay packets. Labour force figures for May, to be released on Thursday, are tipped to show the unemployment rate hold steady at 4.1 per cent. Economists predict about 20,000 new jobs will be added to the economy for the month, following a bumper increase of 89,000 in April. With the labour force participation rate also set to remain unchanged at 67.1 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics figures are poised to show a tightening of the jobs market. Listed salaries have increased by 3.6 per cent for the year to May, according to a report by online job site Seek. The site's advertised salary index showed growth in pay rates for new positions have remained steady over the past year. But monthly growth in May was just 0.2 per cent, the smallest one-month increase since October. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the increase in wages advertised was a welcome rise. "The growth in average advertised salaries is currently outpacing living costs, which is good news for those switching employers as they are likely gaining a real wage increase," he said. "This means they can purchase more goods and services or save some of their additional earnings." Treasurer Jim Chalmers said reducing levels of unemployment had come about while inflation had also been brought down. This is why economic reform matters. We've made a lot of progress together in our first term making our economy more productive, dynamic and resilient to help deliver a better standard of living for all know there's more to do and that's why the reform… — Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) June 18, 2025 "No major advanced economy has combined unemployment in the low 4s with inflation under 2.5 and three years of continuous growth," he said in an address at the National Press Club on Wednesday. "We know this welcome progress in the national aggregate data doesn't always translate into how people are feeling and faring in local communities. But real wages are growing again." The treasurer has flagged potential tax reform during his second term in the role, which will be examined at a productivity summit to be held in Canberra in August. "This is all about testing the country's reform appetite," Dr Chalmers said. "I am prepared to do my bit, the government is prepared to do its bit, and what we'll find out in the course of the next few months is whether everyone is prepared to do their bit as well."
