For four years, Saskia Tjahja worked to help people with disabilities enjoy playing football — a job she "loved" because of the difference it made.
But in mid-September, it was all taken away. Her position was made redundant.
"It's been really tough because obviously I really loved working there and I loved what I do," the Perth-based marketing communications and events manager told SBS News.
"It was really difficult to say goodbye."
And now, two months after losing her job, she is facing an "anxiety-inducing" environment as "people are struggling to get jobs".
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While Tjahja's role was made redundant for reasons specific to her employer, she is among many Australians now looking for work amid a broader wave of job cuts across the economy . In recent months, redundancies have been most acute in banking and finance, technology and professional services.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that 108,300 people were retrenched in July and August; if September's numbers are similar, the quarterly retrenchment number will be the highest since August 2021.
The country's unemployment rate also climbed to 4.7 per cent in September, the highest level since October 2021, according to the ABS.
But the job-hunting process is not like it used to be — at least for Tjahja.
"I started immediately looking for jobs and applying for jobs. However, I've only been contacted once by a potential job opportunity, but I turned that down," she said.
Tjahja said that, with her previous experience, usually "it takes three months" for her to find a job, but this time she does not have "high expectations".
And in her job-hunting experience, she is not alone.
SEEK, an employment listings platform, also said its job ads rose slightly by about 0.6 per cent in September.
The number of applications for each job has been rising consistently and rose by 1.7 per cent in September.
Blair Chapman, SEEK chief economist, said the numbers mean "job seekers are facing greater competition for available roles, which can make the job hunting process more difficult", adding Australia’s "job market remains competitive".
Copywriter Erin Arnett has been navigating this tough job market for nearly a year.
She lost her job in January and has been applying for a handful of jobs each month since then, but she still hasn’t found one.
"It's been pretty hard, because previously when I've looked for work, I've been able to find something within two or three months, but it's been, well, all year, " Arnett said.
"It's pretty disheartening not being able to find something and not being sure when you're going to find something.
"It's leaving me very unsure about my future, and I'm not entirely sure what my next move should be."
LinkedIn data shows almost 70 per cent of Australians believe finding a job has become harder over the past year. The platform's figures suggest that perception reflects a more competitive market, with the number of applicants per role nearly doubling since early 2022 while hiring rates in Australia have fallen by 21 per cent.
LinkedIn career expert Brendan Wong said two main factors are behind the tough job-hunting environment.
"I would say a challenging economy and the introduction of AI (artificial intelligence) are rapidly changing the face of work, and companies are having to respond," he told SBS News.
Recent ABS data also shows that, in the previous year, job seekers said their main difficulty in finding a job was that there were "too many applicants for available jobs".
A higher number of applicants per job also complicates the process for employers.
Matthew Dickerson, Asia Pacific CEO of the global recruitment firm Hays, told SBS News this is partly related to AI, which helps candidates apply for "more jobs and customise their CVs at scale".
"As a result, working through that from an employer's perspective to find good [candidates] has become harder, because a lot more of the CVs look very good because AI has helped write those," he said.
"At the same time, the nature of the roles is changing slightly. And so employers are looking for newer skills ... For example, they're looking for people who've got demonstrable AI capability in the job.
According to LinkedIn, 77 per cent of recruiters say it's harder to find qualified talent than it was a year ago, up from 68 per cent the year before.
Dickerson said the growing use of AI in job applications has also made recruitment more time-consuming,
"They're having to actually do a lot more in-person screening with the potential employees to be able to find the people that best meet their requirements," he said
While AI is changing how employers assess candidates, Wong suggests a human touch could help candidates improve their chances in the country's job market.
"Relationships are pivotal to getting a foot in the door. It could be as simple as starting with the people that they know already," he said.
"Begin with a small interaction. It can be just sending out a message — reaching out to maybe have a coffee."
LinkedIn data shows that Australian applicants with an inside connection at a company are 4.5 times more likely to be hired than those without one.
Wong also cautions against relying too heavily on AI to write CVs and cover letters.
"The trick is to make sure that you're not just copying and pasting whatever the AI is coming up with, because everyone is starting to sound very similar," Wong said.
"Everyone is using the same kind of language, so to stand out, people really have to hone in on what makes them different."
Experts suggest looking into other industries might also help.
Chapman from SEEK said "there are still opportunities for job seekers across the labour market" and "in September, we saw growth in industries such as retail and consumer products and hospitality and tourism, while mining, resources and energy, engineering and construction recorded some of the strongest annual growth in job ads".
"It’s also worth looking at where hiring demand is strongest and considering opportunities beyond your immediate industry or previous experience."
