National newspapers are set to lose millions in job ad revenue with the Federal Government dumping its requirement for senior positions to be advertised in print.

The Australian and The Australian Financial Review will be the hardest hit as they publish the majority of federal printed job ads, but there are fears state governments could follow suit.

If other levels of government decide to also loosen their rules, a host of metro and local titles could also lose huge sales in what is already a struggling revenue source for newspapers.

[Related: Newspapers in flux]

Newspapers have been had progressively leaner job and classified sections as online sites like Seek and Gumtree take over, and the rule change will only accelerate the trend.

The Federal Government has already adopted a series of policies aimed at curtailing its print spending on advertising, recruitment, and tender applications.

They include one that mandates the use of online advertising for all government recruitment, bans ads from national newspapers, limits the size of ads in local press, and says all ads must be in black and white only.

Steve Allen from ad agency Fusion Strategy told Mumbrella that ‘the number of jobs ads has definitely been dwindling’ in recent years.

“Look at The Australian Financial Review on a Friday. Back in the day it was almost half of the book designated for recruitment ads. The reality is today there are far less recruitment ads then there used to be,” he says.

Allen says state governments ‘are sure to follow in next year or two’, though it depends what audience they are trying to reach with their ads.

Comment below to have your say on this story.

If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.  

Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter