I’ve seen similar figures before, but they still amaze me. The Oz reports that job ads are down in Australia, a sure sign of a slowing economy. But the interesting part is in the divide between online and print. According to the numbers, weekly job advertisements in Australian newspapers averaged 15,105 a week in August, vs 234,009 online per week.

You did read that right. 234,009 jobs a week online, 15,105 in print. The online jobs market in Australia is now 15.6x larger than the print market. Print now delivers only 6% of all job ads in Australia where as ten years ago the figure would have been close to 100%.

Seek.com.au, the nations leading job site, launched in March 1998.

We know that real estate and cars sales are heading in the same direction. Niche publications target the general classifieds market (Trading Post/ Quokka). This is the bread and butter of newsprint, and it’s disappearing in our life time in Australia, and strangely enough, at a likely quicker rate than the United States.

Our newspapers are slimmer and leaner than their American cousins, thanks to the consolidation in the late 80s, early 90s, and news.com.au and the Fairfax titles rank well in terms of internet traffic, a small saving grace. And yet, denied the one thing that has kept them going for so long, there will be pain and blood letting ahead.