Events, OOH and retail media lead Australia's media hiring rebound

Hiring in Australia's media and events sector rose 11% year-on-year in the July-September quarter, the strongest result in three years, according to new research from Mercury Talent.

Mercury Talent tracks advertised roles across publishers, broadcasters, OOH/retail media, B2B media/events, large scale events, search/social, programmatic and adtech companies. It counted 1,166 roles in Q3 2026, up 11% year-on-year and 15% on the previous quarter. That tops the previous high of 1,162 in Q3 2024 and puts the market back above pre-downturn levels.

Justin Randles, Director at Mercury Talent, said: "The job market in the media & events industry has been up and down over the past three years, so I’m loath to call this result a recovery.”  

“That said, 1,166 jobs for the quarter is the best news for jobseekers since July-September 2024, so we’re all hoping the bounce we’re experiencing will continue.”

Melbourne media overtaking Sydney’s recovery pace

Melbourne grew 31% year-on-year against Sydney's 8%, the third consecutive quarter it has outperformed Sydney. This may point to a structural shift in where industry investment is going rather than a short-term blip.

Events sector drives Q3 headline numbers

Large scale events drove the result, with roles up 267% year-on-year to 198, the sector's biggest quarter on record. The Rugby World Cup, newcomer Fever, AFL, Football Australia and Cricket Australia all ramped up hiring at the same time. OOH/retail media grew 31.4%, continuing a recovery that began in Q1 2026, with Kmart, Myer Media Network and MixIn among the new retail media entrants. B2B media/events rose 20.4%, its second consecutive double-digit quarter, and radio/podcast returned to growth at 10.3%.

TV/streaming fell 14.0%, its sixth consecutive quarterly decline. Search/social also fell 14%, and programmatic was the weakest sector at -27.5%. Publishing was flat at -1.0%, after three years of double-digit declines.

Mid-level hiring surge; Sales remain a concern

By function, marketing and communications roles rose 68% and content roles 18%, both their strongest results in the dataset. Product and operations hiring grew 12%, its sixth consecutive positive quarter. Sales/client service hiring fell 9%, its sixth straight negative quarter, and Mercury Talent called it the most significant concern. Traditional publishers and broadcasters are leading the pullback, while Google (+55%) and REA Group (+180%) are growing their sales teams. Sales is typically an leading indicator of business confidence, so the split between digital and traditional players is worth watching.

Mid-level hiring grew 25%, the strongest seniority result on record, while junior hiring rose 3.2%. Mercury Talent said organisations are rebuilding from the middle out, moving from replacement hiring to workforce expansion.

AI hiring reaches new high

Roles with "AI" in the job title reached 24, a quarterly record and 140% above Q3 2025. Nine, News Corp, Google and TikTok were the most active hirers. The cohort includes Director-level AI appointments at News Corp and AI Enablement Managers at Tennis Australia and Livewire.

READ MORE: Media hiring slips again as sales roles contract