Modest dip in job vacancies recorded for November

But they are still well above their pre-pandemic level

By Mina Martin

11 Jan 2024

Job vacancies in Australia totaled 389,000 in November, a modest decrease of 3,000 from the figures reported in August, latest employment figures from ABS showed.

David Taylor, ABS head of labour statistics, revealed that this signified a 1% drop in job vacancies between August and November.

“This was the sixth straight quarterly drop in job vacancies, which have now fallen by around 18% from the historical peak in May 2022,” Taylor said in a media release. “However, this quarter saw a relatively small decline, compared with the 8% fall in August.

“Job vacancies remain well above their pre-COVID-19 pandemic level, around 71% higher than February 2020.”

Job market still tight

The slow decrease in job openings, coupled with recent increases in unemployment, highlighted an ongoing sign that the job market remained relatively tight.

“The number of unemployed people per job vacancy was 1.5 in November. While this is higher than 1.1, when it was at its pandemic low, it is still well below the 3.1 figure in February 2020,” Taylor said.

“Similarly, the most recent Labour Account data for the September quarter, showed that job vacancies still accounted for around 2.6% of jobs in the labour market, which was well above the 1.6% from the March quarter 2020.”

Job vacancies across industries, sectors

The decrease in job vacancies was observed across various industries, with the most significant quarterly percentage drops recorded in rental, hiring, and real estate services (-14%) and education and training (-12%).

Despite these declines, job vacancies in various industries, especially customer-facing sectors like arts and recreation services and accommodation and food services continue to remain elevated compared to pre-COVID levels.

Also recording increases in job vacancies were mining (+2%) and public administration and safety (+1%).

Vacant positions in numerous industries still surpass levels seen before COVID-19. This is especially notable in customer-facing sectors such as arts and recreation services, as well as accommodation and food services.

Both public and private sectors saw declines in job vacancies over the three-month period ending in November. Public sector vacancies fell by 2%, amounting to 1,000 positions, while the private sector experienced a 1% decrease, translating to 2,000 fewer vacancies.

Job vacancies across regions

Job vacancies also declined across all states and territories during the same period. The Australian Capital Territory witnessed the most substantial percentage drop in job vacancies (-17%), followed by the Northern Territory with a 14% reduction, ABS reported.