The outlook is also good for permanent staff, with a 3.4 per cent increase in demand in October.
"While the surge in Christmas hiring is good news for industry workers, the healthy increase in demand for permanent staff is a bellwether for improvements in business confidence and hiring," said Paul Mcleay, spokesperson for the Labourforce Jobs Index.
TL&SC jobs growth continues to outperform the overall Australian market, with the Labourforce Index rising 4.3 per cent to 118.75 in October 2014. This compares to the ANZ Job Advertisements Series for October 2014, which recorded 0.2 per cent (monthly growth) in October.
Sharp swing into positive territory
While the TL&SC market had a slow start to the year, it has seen a massive 20.7 per cent increase in job advertisement volumes in the past six months.
Victoria tops the states and territories in job growth, with a 6 per cent increase in October. NSW retains the largest share of TL&SC jobs, however the relative weakness of the NSW market has led to rebalancing over market share between states.
"The data are telling us a story of Victoria setting the pace for the rest of the country, with 22 per cent of the new jobs across all sectors," McLeay said.
"Factors, such as the net impact of a fall in manufacturing demand offset by growth in construction and retail, saw NSW's share fall to 30.6. Queensland is holding its ground, with a 19.2 per cent share, while Western Australia upped its market share to 18.5 per cent."
Australia-wide, the retail industry is attracting the most workers, with a 38 per cent increase in demand over the past six months. Factors contributing to the strong growth include retailers translating the increase in online sales to demand in the warehouse and on the road.
In brief…
- Victoria records highest growth in jobs, at 6.2 per cent
- Queensland experienced a 6 per cent fall, after a very positive third quarter
- NSW was the weakest performing state across the sector
- WA records up to 20 per cent growth in the last quarter
