Job vacancies rise for first time since May 2022
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The news: Job vacancies grew in the November quarter, the first rise since May 2022, when job vacancies reached their historical peak in Australia.
The numbers: There were 344,000 job vacancies in November, up by 14,000 (4.2%), from August, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The number of job vacancies in November was still 39,000, or 10.3%, lower than November 2023, and 130,000, or 27.4%, lower than the peak in May 2022.
The number of job vacancies in November grew in 14 of the 18 industries. The biggest rises were in customer-facing industries including arts and recreation services (28.5%) and accommodation and food services (20.1%).
The largest quarterly percentage drops in job vacancies were in construction (-11.5%) and education and training (-9.5%).
Annually, job vacancies fell in most industries, with the largest drop in manufacturing (-36.9%). The strongest percentage growth in job vacancies over the year was in rental, hiring and real estate services (27.1%).
Job vacancies rose in both the private (4.7%) and public sectors (0.4%). South Australia had the largest percentage rise (17.7%), followed by Queensland (13.8%). The only falls were in Victoria (-2.2%) and Western Australia (-0.1%).
The context: Job vacancies in most industries remained higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABS said.
Four industries were still seeing more than double their pre-pandemic levels of job vacancies: arts and recreation services, accommodation and food services, electricity, gas, water and waste services, and health care and social assistance.
Only three industries had fewer job vacancies than before the pandemic: administrative and support services, wholesale trade, and financial and insurance services.
The source: ABS media release
