The ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads fell 3.1% month on month in March to a seasonally adjusted 114.6, following a 3.2% increase to 118.2 in February, ANZ reported Tuesday.

ANZ economist Aaron Luk noted that job vacancies rose 2.7% in the three months to February, led by a 3.2% gain in the private sector, in line with the job ads increase over the same period, while the subsequent drop in March job ads coincided with the unemployment rate rising to 4.3% in February.

The Reserve Bank of Australia signaled that while a prolonged Middle East conflict could dampen labor demand, rising living costs may encourage more workers to join the workforce, potentially easing tightness in the labor market, Luk added.

Indeed senior economist Callam Pickering said that upward momentum stalled in March, with job ads falling sharply in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria, though opportunities remain well above levels seen at the end of 2025.

The monthly fall in job ads was driven by declines in education, nursing, personal care, and retail, outweighing gains in project management and engineering roles supported by graduate hiring, Pickering added.

Compared with the year-earlier period, job ads fell 0.6% in March, per the report.