Vacancies, however, remain about pre-pandemic levels
Job vacancies across Australia declined 2.7% to 352,600 in May 2024, according to the latest data from the Statistics Bureau (ABS).
This continues a decreasing trend of available work in Australia, after February registered a 6.2% decrease in job vacancies.
Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said it has been two years since the peak of job vacancies in May 2022.
"Since then, vacancies have fallen by 26%," Jarvis said in a statement. "However, job vacancies were still well above their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level. There were still around 54.8%, or around 125,000, more vacancies than in February 2020."
Source: Australia Bureau of Statistics
As job vacancies remain higher than pre-pandemic figures, the Institute of Public Affairs renewed its call to remove the red tape and tax barriers preventing pensioners, veterans, and students to take up work.
"For our pensioners and veterans, should they work just a day and a half on the minimum wage, they are hit with exorbitant tax rates which simply doesn't make work pay. We are all missing out on the skills and experience this cohort can bring to our workplaces," said IPA research fellow Saxon Davidson in a statement.
According to the ABS, private sector job vacancies declined by 2.7%, while the public sector had a 2.5% decrease from February 2024.
By industry, wholesale trade and manufacturing logged the biggest quarterly drop in job vacancies with -30.7% and -29.8%, respectively.
On the other hand, the largest growth in job vacancies was recorded in the Professional, scientific and technical services (15.9%) and public administration and safety (15.3%).
By location, only the Northern Territory saw an increase in job vacancies with 15.2%, according to the report.
The largest decreases in job vacancies, however, were reported in South Australia (-17.3%) and Western Australia (-12.3%).
