Jobs market softens for seventh month

AUSTRALIA'S labour market has softened for the seventh successive month, a report has found. The Seek Employment Index, the ratio of online job advertisements to applications, fell by 5.1 per cent in June to 83.6 index points, seasonally adjusted. The index is 21 per cent weaker than it was a year earlier. New South Wales experienced the biggest drop of 7.7 per cent followed by Queensland (6.9 per cent) and the ACT (6.2 per cent). Western Australia was the only state where the labour market tightened, with the job index rising two per cent. Seek joint chief executive Paul Bassat said the softening of the labour market was a sign of a busy end to the financial year. "Recruiting and hiring at this time of year are not necessarily high priorities with many businesses examining their human resources requirements following... [read full story]