The Olivier Internet Job Index hit an all time high in March with an average of 154,291 Australian jobs advertised on the net, beating the previous high of 150,222 in August 2000.
The very peak of demand was in the first week of the month. Then the interest rate rise dragged job ad numbers down slightly. The job numbers rose by 5.38% (seasonally adjusted) above February's average figure. Over 12 months the Olivier IJI has risen 29.67%.
"The jobs market is still flying at phenomenally high levels - this is just a little high level turbulence" company director Robert Olivier said.
"We now know that interest rate rises do disturb the jobs market - they did at the end of 2003, and it did again last month.”
"Business news generally has been negative, and that can have a knock-on effect on job ads" Olivier said.
“And there's continuing speculation about another rate rise. We'd expect more volatility over the next few months before a clear trend emerges.”
“Unlike surveys of hiring intentions or business confidence the Olivier Internet Job Index reflects actual jobs on offer. Any violatilty in our figures reflects real changes in the views of employers” Olivier said.
The index is down in four of the 21 industry sectors but the survey claims none of the falls are significant.