Job advertisements in Australia's retail sector have declined by 43.20% year over year, according to Seek's latest Employment Report.
Reeling from the effects of COVID-19, overall, Australia's job advertisements have declined 33.9% compared to March 2019.
Across all states and territories job advertisements have declined, with the hardest hit states being Victoria (-39.1% yoy), New South Wales (-35.1% yoy) and Queensland (-29.6% yoy).
The month of March particularly has seen significant disruption, with job ads declining on a weekly basis.
In the week ended 8 March job ads declined 12.6%; in the week ended 15 March they declined by 17.3%; in week ended 22 March 41.3%; and, in week ended 29 March job ads had declined by 64.6%.
Seek ANZ MD Kendra Banks said that job seekers need to ensure that they're making themselves stand out in what is a hyper-crowded applicant pool.
"The coronavirus pandemic has caused widespread disruption to the labour market and Seek is seeing a range of industries respond in very different ways.
"We know that employers are either scaling up or winding back their recruitment needs at a rapid pace, and there are far greater applications per job ad than what we typically see across almost all sectors.
"Our advice for jobseekers is to keep your profile up to date and follow the application process.
"Employers have been inundated with applications so standing out and being competitive by tailoring your resume to the job ad, being clear about your skills and experience which directly align to the job you’re applying for throughout the recruitment process is vitally important.
"As the coronavirus pandemic continues to unfold, we continue to watch the movements in the labour market very closely to understand how each sector is responding with regards to hiring intentions and business activity," she said.