ANZ Australian Job Ads fell 0.3% in January following a revised 5.8% drop in December.

The big-four bank noted despite the surge in Omicron cases, job ads remained 9.6% above the lows seen throughout the nationwide Delta-lockdown.

"Although ANZ Job Ads fell by 0.3% in January, they rose steeply on a weekly basis throughout the month, as is usual following the seasonal Christmas/New Year low," ANZ Senior Economist Catherine Birch said.

"This was despite the large number of Omicron cases in the community, reflecting the resilience in labour demand and the widespread view that Omicron would only be a temporary setback."

ANZ Job Ads Jan 2022.JPG

In December, the employment-to-population ratio hit record highs while both unemployment and underemployment dropped to their lowest rates since 2008.

"With the ABS job vacancy rate lifting to a record high of 2.9% in November, there’s even more tightening on the cards," Ms Birch said.

ANZ had previously forecast the unemployment rate to reach 4.4% by the end of 2022, before breaking into the 3's in 2023.

Ms Birch believes it now seems that an unemployment rate with a 3-handle, and lower underemployment, will come a lot sooner than initially forecasted in 2023.

"Our forecasts had wage growth reaching 3% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, but the risks now seem weighted towards an earlier acceleration," she said. 

Career changes to spur greater number of job ads

ANZ previously reported the arrival of the new year saw an increase of nearly 2% of the share of Aussies planning to change jobs.

"After Omicron, we expect the job-switching rate to rise as workers change to better, higher paying jobs in 2022," Ms Birch said.

"This would mean more people quitting their current jobs, which should translate into a greater number of new job ads, raising job ads data as well as the National Skills Commission measure - so we may not have seen the peak yet."


Need somewhere to store cash and earn interest? The table below features savings accounts with some of the highest interest rates on the market.

Update resultsUpdate
BankSavings AccountBase Interest Rate Max Interest Rate Total Interest Earned Introductory Term Minimum Amount Maximum Amount Minimum Monthly Deposit Minimum Opening Deposit ATM Access Joint Application TagsFeaturesLinkCompare
4.40% p.a.
5.75% p.a.
Intro rate for 4 months
then 4.40% p.a.
$980
4 months
$0
$250,000
$0
$0
Featured
  • Bonus rate for the first 4 months from account opening
  • No account keeping fees
  • No minimum balance
0.55% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.95%
Conditions apply.
5.50% p.a.
$1,128
$0
$100,000
$1,000
$0
1.20% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.20%
Conditions apply.
5.40% p.a.
$1,107
$0
$250,000
$1,000
$0
  • Earn up to 5.40% pa by depositing $1,000 in the previous month
  • No account fees
  • Easy access to your money
4.75% p.a.
5.35% p.a.
Intro rate for 4 months
then 4.75% p.a.
$1,001
4 months
$0
$249,999
$0
$0
  • A high-interest online savings account with no monthly fees, easy withdrawals and award-winning digital banking
0.50% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.85%
Conditions apply.
5.35% p.a.
$1,097
$1
$50,000
$500
$1
  • Maximum Age - 24
0.10% p.a.
Bonus rate of 5.00%
Conditions apply.
5.10% p.a.
$1,044
$0
$250,000
$200
$0
No monthly fees
  • Download the App to open your account
  • Get better visibility of your spending within App!
  • Deposit $200 per month to activate bonus interest
0.05% p.a.
Bonus rate of 4.95%
Conditions apply.
5.00% p.a.
$1,023
$1
$250,000
$20
$0
  • No fees or penalties for withdrawing money
  • Savings guaranteed up to $250,000
  • Maximise your savings and reach your goals faster with Auto-Savings
0.05% p.a.
Bonus rate of 5.45%
Conditions apply.
5.50% p.a.
$1,128
$0
$50,000
$1,000
$0
For customers aged 14-35 years
0.05% p.a.
Bonus rate of 5.30%
Conditions apply.
5.35% p.a.
$1,097
$0
$250,000
$1,000
$0
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

All products with a link to a product provider’s website have a commercial marketing relationship between us and these providers. These products may appear prominently and first within the search tables regardless of their attributes and may include products marked as promoted, featured or sponsored. The link to a product provider’s website will allow you to get more information or apply for the product. By de-selecting “Show online partners only” additional non-commercialised products may be displayed and re-sorted at the top of the table. For more information on how we’ve selected these “Sponsored”, “Featured” and “Promoted” products, the products we compare, how we make money, and other important information about our service, please click here. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

Image by Surface via Unsplash





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