The number of advertised media industry jobs in the June quarter increased 5.5% to 1,016 year-on-year, but this isn’t the start of a hiring spree, according to the analysis by recruiters Mercury Talent.
The result was flat (-0.2%) compared to the previous quarter, continuing a run of a steady but subdued jobs market following three years of data tracking.
The headline figure masks a divergence between the jobs market in Sydney and Melbourne for the June quarter.
Sydney recorded 751 roles, up just 2.3% year-on-year and down 5.8% on the previous quarter.
Melbourne had 316 roles, up 20.2% year-on-year and 12.5% higher quarter-on-quarter, its strongest quarterly result in three years.
Melbourne accounted for 31% of all media industry recruitment activity in the June quarter, up from 27% compared to the same period last year.
“While any increase in hiring activity is welcome, we remain unconvinced that this is the start of a hiring spree in the media and events industry,” said Justin Randles, director, Mercury Talent.
“Recruitment activity has gone up and down over the past three years, while the long-term trend has been a decline - it’s too early to start popping champagne corks.”
The large scale events sector was the quarter's defining story, with recruitment activity surging 139% year-on-year to 136 roles.
The Rugby World Cup, Netball World Cup, Cricket Australia and Tennis Australia all drove significant hiring activity across both cities, reflecting the concentration of major sporting and entertainment events in the 2026 calendar.
Out-of-home and retail media was the next strongest sector, up 54% during the quarter year-on-year to 108 roles, led by Cartology, JCDecaux and QMS.
The B2B media/events sector also grew solidly, up 24% year-on-year.
TV/streaming recorded the steepest decline of any sector, down 28% year-on-year to 126 roles, a fall driven by reduced recruitment activity at Nine, Paramount, Sky News and the international streamers. Programmatic fell 24% and search/social eased 11%, though Google hiring activity continued to grow within that sector.
Recruitment activity for marketing & communications roles was the strongest-growing job function in both cities, up 33% in Sydney and 44% in Melbourne.
Product and operations continued its sustained growth trajectory, up 9% in Sydney and 17% in Melbourne.
Content recruitment activity fell 11% in Sydney but grew 57% in Melbourne year-on-year, driven largely by B2B media/events and large scale events organisations building editorial and content capability outside the traditional publishing sector.
Hiring for sales and client service roles was essentially flat across both cities.
Melbourne recorded growth across all seniority levels, with junior-level roles up 23% and mid-level roles up 17%.
Sydney's seniority mix was more subdued. Junior-level hiring eased slightly while mid- and senior-level recruitment grew modestly. Senior-level recruitment grew 12% in Sydney, suggesting ongoing senior leadership investment despite the softer overall market.
Domain was the quarter's standout employer in Sydney, growing from 4 to 31 roles, a sevenfold increase reflecting a broad-based hiring push across sales, product and marketing functions.
SBS and Foxtel also grew strongly in Sydney, while News Corp, Nine and Are Media each pulled back.
In Melbourne, Tennis Australia led growth with 21 roles, followed by new entrants Firmable and Fever. Mamamia recorded the sharpest decline in Sydney, falling from 16 to just 1 role during the quarter.
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