Job vacancies increase for first time since May 2022: ABS
Job vacancies in Australia went up for the first time in more than two years after increasing to 344,000 in November 2024, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The Job Vacancies Survey revealed that vacancies were up by 14,000, or 4.2%, from August 2024.
"This was the first rise since May 2022, when job vacancies reached their historical peak," said Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.
The private sector recorded a bigger increase in job vacancies with 4.7%, while the public sector saw a 0.4% hike in the November 2024 quarter, according to the ABS.
Fourteen out of 18 industries in Australia also reported an increase in job vacancies during the period, with the biggest hike recorded in the Arts and Recreation Services (+28.5%).
The biggest drop, on the other hand, was logged in the Construction (-11.5%) as well as the Education and Training (-9.5%) industries.
Jarvis said four industries continue to see more than double their pre-pandemic levels of job vacancies, including:
"Only three industries had fewer job vacancies than before the pandemic – Administrative and support services, Wholesale trade, and Financial and insurance services," Jarvis added.
By location, job vacancies increased in most states and territories, with South Australia seeing the biggest climb with 17.7%.
Only Victoria and Western Australia reported decreases in job vacancies, with -2.2% and -0.1%, respectively.
