Job vacancies have performed extremely well over the past year, but in July there was a 3% decline as renewed lockdowns took their toll.
Vacancies remained 38% higher than pre-COVID levels, which is a mark of how successfully Australia has managed the crisis to date.
New South Wales saw a decline of 10% in July job advertisements, directly due to the Sydney lockdown.
Overall, job vacancies are still elevated in New South Wales, but the lockdowns and restrictions look set to run deep in September, and possibly beyond, so there will be further declines to come over the next two months.
While New Zealand looks to have cracked the full employment puzzle, with wages now rising quickly smart, for Australia the dream has once again proved to be elusive (for now).
Roy Morgan's survey found that unemployment and underemployment in Australia were rising again through July.