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 Cameron, as it settles back into a post-pandemic equilibrium.

"More ads is good news because hirers are out there demanding more labour and looking

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