Statistics reflect a growing demand for talent in the ongoing Great Resignation
Australia had a record-high 423,000 job vacancies for the month of February, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), beating figures in November 2021 and February 2020 or before the pandemic.
"The number of job vacancies in February 2022 was seven per cent higher than in November 2021, when many businesses were emerging from the Delta lockdowns," explained Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS. "There were around an extra 200,000 job vacancies than in February 2020 – around 86% higher."
According to Jarvis, this is a new record high through the pandemic, with the soaring number of vacancies reflecting a massive demand for workers.
"The high number of vacancies shows the strong demand for workers across the economy, as businesses are responding to disruptions to operations, together with labour shortages across the economy."
The ABS added that the percentage of businesses reporting at least one vacancy also increased to 24% in February 2022 from the previous 21% in November 2021.
"Job vacancies were much higher than before the pandemic in all industries, with many businesses continuing to report difficulties in filling their vacancies," it also said.
In terms of sector, the following customer-facing industries that were hit hard during the pandemic reported the highest growth in vacancies over the past two years:
In terms of location, job vacancies were also much higher than before the pandemic all states and territories over the past two years, according to the ABS, adding that the increases went to around 63% in New South Wales to 196% in the Northern Territory.
The ABS also said vacancies in the private and public sectors increased to a similar extent over the three months to February, but the former's vacancies were "still much higher than before the pandemic."
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The high job vacancies come as Australian businesses further reopen following the impact of the Omicron variant, leading to more demand for talent.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) forecasted this strong demand for labour will "translate into a lower unemployment rate, as well as a declining rate of underemployment as firms boost hours of their existing staff to meet demand."
According to the RBA in the Statement on Monetary Policy, employment growth is predicted to "rise strongly" throughout the year once Omicron-related disruptions wane.
The unemployment rate is predicted to plunge later in 2022 to a rate "that has not been seen in Australia in nearly half a century, said RBA, while participation rate is forecast to "reach a historical high in late 2022."
