Job ads and job-seekers up in 'challenging' market

More jobs are being advertised but there's also more competition for them, new data suggests. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

The number of job-seekers per role has hit a new high, even as employers gain the confidence to hire again.

In a sign of the challenging times for Australians looking for work, fresh data from employment marketplace Seek shows both job ads and job applicants are up.

The number of roles posted on Seek grew by 0.8 per cent in September, the fifth straight month of increased ads.

The gains were led by the retail sector (up 2.4 per cent), suggestive of a strong Christmas shopping season ahead, and the real estate and education industries (up 1.9 per cent each).

That's welcome for the Australian economy, according to Seek senior economist Blair Chapman, as it settles back into a post-pandemic equilibrium.

"More ads is good news because hirers are out there demanding more labour and looking for workers," he told AAP.

Ads for retail, real estate and education jobs were up while insurance and banking positions fell. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)

Despite five months of gains, the number of job ads is still 1.1 per cent down on this time last year.

Insurance (down 2.9 per cent) and banking (down 1.5 per cent) continued their downward trend, with the biggest drops in posted ads in September.

While job-seekers have more choice in what they might apply for, there is also more competition for the roles.

Applications per ad rose by 0.6 per cent to reach a new peak - a figure that Seek doesn't disclose.

"It's broadly similar to what we saw at the peak of COVID. It's quite high at the moment," Dr Chapman said.

"That reflects there are a lot of people out there looking for work, multiple job-holdings still quite high as are the cost of living pressures.

"As the recent rise in the unemployment rate and the slowdown in employment growth indicates, the labour market remains challenging."

Dr Chapman said an influx of New Zealanders moving across the Tasman at near-record rates was adding to the jobseeking mix.

"Their economy suffered a lot more than us (post-COVID) and we've got quite a big increase in the share of Kiwis applying ... that's been elevated for a couple of years now," he said.

"There are just a lot more people out there looking for work."

Seek's advertised salary index shows the job wages on offer are 3.5 per cent higher than a year earlier - on par with the wage cost index, which is running at 3.4 per cent.

The national minimum wage was also lifted by 3.5 per cent in July this year.