Slowing job market projected to hit young workers the hardest

Australia’s job market has proved surprisingly resilient to interest rates moving higher, though chinks in the armour are starting to show.

A slowing pace of annual growth in payroll jobs, which tracks the number of employees on employer payrolls, points to a slowdown in labour market growth.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics data, which is not seasonally adjusted, showed payroll jobs lifting 2.4% in the 12 months to mid-September, down from 2.7% through to mid-August.

Thursday’s payroll dataset follows another incremental decline in job ads as measured by employment marketplace Seek earlier in the week.

Another gauge, the Employment Hero small and medium-sized business index, recorded a softening across hours worked and employment growth metrics in retail, hospitality and tourism businesses.