IT job ads trail national average, report finds

Australia's online employment sites are booming, boasting just shy of 360,000 employment opportunities across the nation's top three job search sites, but IT is lagging slightly behind, according to The Olivier Internet Job Index (IJI).

The IJI for August reported a 2.91 per cent national increase from the previous month.

Overall, Australia's online employment market has grown by 50 per cent over the past year, and the IJI predicts a continuing increase over coming months.

"Clearly last month's interest rate rise did not quell Australian employers' voracious appetite for workers," said Robert Olivier, Director of the Olivier Group.

"What we've seen over the last six or seven (interest rate) rises is that the job market holds it breath and falters momentarily, before moving ahead. So this wasn't a surprise, the fact it bounced back was expected."

Olivier's IJI collates and evaluates jobs advertised on Seek, MyCareer and CareerOne, spanning 21 industry sectors ranging from Arts & Entertainment, Information & Technology, to Building and Construction.

"There are three standout sectors," explained Olivier, "but it's a matter of relativity; no one is going backwards, all sectors are moving forwards, but some faster than others. The strongest performers in Australia are the Building & Construction, Education, and Engineering & Mining sectors."

Information Technology & Telecommunications jobs rose by several percentage points, lifting the annual growth rate of the sector but still trailing the national average overall.

"Its been a strong performer over the last 12 months," said Olivier, "IT is averaging 46.47 per cent growth over the last year compared to a national average of 50.81 per cent across all sectors."

"Job growth in IT has slowed over the past three months, it isn't in decline, its just the growth isn't as fast as it was. IT may be heading towards a plateau similar to the Building & Construction sector."