Nov-2022 | Quarterly Change | Annual Change | |
---|---|---|---|
'000 | % | % | |
Private sector | 396.8 | -6.0 | 9.2 |
Public sector | 47.4 | 6.0 | 36.6 |
Private and public sectors | 444.2 | -4.9 | 11.6 |
Job Vacancies, Australia
Results of the quarterly Job Vacancies Survey containing estimates of job vacancies classified by industry, sector and state/territory.
Key statistics
Seasonally adjusted estimates for November 2022:
- Total job vacancies were 444,200, a decrease of 4.9% from August 2022.
- Private sector vacancies were 396,800, a decrease of 6.0% from August 2022.
- Public sector vacancies were 47,400, an increase of 6.0% from August 2022.
Survey impacts and changes
Guide to labour statistics
To learn more about our different labour measures, their purpose and how to use them, see our new Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on key labour market topics including Industry employment data.
Seasonally adjusted and trend estimates
In the May 2020 Job Vacancies release, the ABS changed the method used to produce seasonally adjusted estimates from the ‘concurrent’ method to the ‘forward factors’ method. The forward factors approach is better suited to managing large movements at the end point of series and ensures that large movements do not have a disproportionate influence on the seasonal factors. The forward factors approach is not considered suitable for series with a non-seasonal span, and the concurrent adjustment method continued to be used for these series.
Since May 2020, trend estimates have also been suspended for all job vacancies series.
The ABS will continue to monitor the economic impacts from COVID-19 with a view to reverting to the concurrent method and reinstating the trend series when there is no longer significant and prolonged disruption to key job vacancies series. This could be as early as the second half of 2023.
Other measures of labour demand
In addition to Job Vacancies, there are a number of non-ABS indicators that measure labour demand using alternative concepts, sources and methods. These are also widely used as leading indicators of employment. Prominent examples include the ANZ Job Advertisement Series, the SEEK Employment Report, and the National Skills Commission's Internet Vacancy Index.
Measures of job vacancies and job advertisements will differ for a number of reasons. One of the key differences is that job vacancies includes jobs for which job advertisements are undertaken but also includes jobs where other recruitment approaches are exclusively used, such as word of mouth or social media. Furthermore, job vacancies count every position advertised within a single notice, while some job advertisements may be used to fill multiple positions.
Job vacancies over time
Job vacancies decreased by 4.9% (22,700 vacancies) in the three months to November 2022 (seasonally adjusted). The decline in job vacancies this quarter was driven by Health care and social assistance. Despite the decrease, the level of job vacancies in November 2022 remained elevated. Job vacancies were 94.9% higher than they were in February 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic. The ongoing high level of vacancies reflected the continuing labour shortages in some industries.
The Job Vacancies Survey was suspended between August 2008 to August 2009 (inclusive).
Businesses reporting vacancies
The number of businesses reporting at least one vacancy shows the extent of the acute reduction in labour demand in May 2020, as well as the subsequent change since then. In February 2020, just prior to the main effects of COVID-19, the proportion of businesses reporting at least one vacancy was 11.0%. In May 2020, a much lower proportion of businesses reported at least one vacancy (6.5%). By November 2022, this had increased to 27.7%.
Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New South Wales | 15.1 | 19.6 | 22.9 | 19.4 | 22.3 | 24.2 | 26.2 | 28.9 | 28.0 |
Victoria | 15.5 | 18.0 | 22.0 | 18.8 | 21.2 | 22.9 | 27.3 | 27.1 | 29.2 |
Queensland | 12.9 | 17.4 | 22.6 | 26.9 | 20.0 | 26.0 | 22.8 | 26.7 | 28.3 |
South Australia | 9.1 | 15.7 | 15.6 | 13.1 | 14.7 | 17.6 | 17.3 | 19.7 | 18.4 |
Western Australia | 16.7 | 16.3 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 19.5 | 22.4 | 28.3 | 25.2 | 29.4 |
Tasmania | 14.2 | 17.8 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 18.5 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 14.0 | 22.0 |
Northern Territory | 21.0 | 21.8 | 26.5 | 20.8 | 23.1 | 27.8 | 31.6 | 36.5 | 35.6 |
Australian Capital Territory | 17.3 | 12.1 | 13.8 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 16.6 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 13.7 |
Australia | 14.7 | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 | 25.2 | 26.7 | 27.7 |
Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mining | 16.3 | 21.1 | 11.0 | 18.1 | 17.1 | 27.8 | 24.8 | 19.3 | 27.1 |
Manufacturing | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 22.9 | 24.9 | 29.6 | 22.3 | 25.9 | 23.8 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 18.5 | 13.9 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 21.3 | 39.2 | 34.5 | 13.1 | 31.0 |
Construction | 13.0 | 22.8 | 26.9 | 23.3 | 21.5 | 24.3 | 30.3 | 28.5 | 28.5 |
Wholesale trade | 17.8 | 15.2 | 23.6 | 22.3 | 20.5 | 29.5 | 16.8 | 26.1 | 19.9 |
Retail trade | 17.8 | 16.4 | 21.6 | 21.4 | 15.9 | 16.6 | 17.7 | 23.8 | 31.5 |
Accommodation and food services | 16.9 | 30.5 | 30.5 | 18.3 | 30.9 | 32.4 | 34.0 | 42.5 | 45.3 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 4.3 | 20.2 | 22.0 | 15.7 | 17.3 | 22.4 | 22.6 | 25.8 | 21.5 |
Information media and telecommunications | 14.0 | 18.3 | 20.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 19.8 | 26.7 | 20.4 | 29.0 |
Financial and insurance services | 15.7 | 16.9 | 20.5 | 10.3 | 5.5 | 14.8 | 20.0 | 8.2 | 21.7 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 12.8 | 11.1 | 16.9 | 19.3 | 15.1 | 20.1 | 25.2 | 27.3 | 26.1 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 14.2 | 14.5 | 16.4 | 15.4 | 16.6 | 17.6 | 18.0 | 19.4 | 24.8 |
Administrative and support services | 18.9 | 17.1 | 23.6 | 29.8 | 30.5 | 36.2 | 38.3 | 32.8 | 36.8 |
Public administration and safety | 35.4 | 30.0 | 42.2 | 29.8 | 27.5 | 33.5 | 37.9 | 37.4 | 35.0 |
Education and training | 5.2 | 8.6 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 14.6 | 8.3 | 7.7 |
Health care and social assistance | 13.6 | 13.4 | 23.3 | 21.2 | 26.7 | 18.9 | 26.7 | 33.4 | 17.5 |
Arts and recreation services | 21.0 | 3.1 | 14.0 | 9.3 | 6.7 | 8.3 | 10.2 | 4.7 | 9.3 |
Other services | 16.7 | 21.1 | 22.8 | 28.1 | 25.4 | 32.7 | 32.7 | 34.4 | 36.7 |
All industries | 14.7 | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 | 25.2 | 26.7 | 27.7 |
Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Replacement/resignations | 75.1 | 76.2 | 76.0 | 75.1 | 77.4 | 79.7 | 80.4 | 78.2 | 77.1 |
Increased workload | 41.3 | 44.5 | 45.4 | 42.3 | 45.9 | 47.8 | 47.0 | 45.4 | 44.0 |
Expansion of business | 21.2 | 25.4 | 26.8 | 25.3 | 25.7 | 25.9 | 27.8 | 27.8 | 25.6 |
Restructure | 16.8 | 14.0 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 13.8 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 13.2 | 12.8 |
Relocation | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
Seasonal | 16.4 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 11.4 | 19.0 | 12.0 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 18.1 |
Special event | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 |
Takeover | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 |
Other | 10.9 | 8.8 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 8.6 | 7.1 | 6.4 |
Businesses may have multiple reasons for reporting job vacancies
Proportions are of businesses that reported at least one vacancy
States and territories
NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | NT | ACT | Australia | Australia (Seasonally adjusted) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change from previous quarter | ||||||||||
Aug-21 | -15.6 | -7.1 | 5.0 | -15.8 | 12.7 | -10.3 | 21.1 | -8.8 | -5.2 | -10.4 |
Nov-21 | 27.0 | 30.4 | -0.4 | 31.9 | 16.9 | 17.3 | 1.5 | 23.9 | 20.1 | 20.0 |
Feb-22 | 7.5 | -4.0 | 9.4 | 3.1 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 36.6 | 15.9 | 5.5 | 6.4 |
May-22 | 11.6 | 18.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | -1.9 | 2.8 | -8.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 13.4 |
Aug-22 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 9.1 | 3.1 | -6.8 | -16.6 | -1.3 | -2.9 | 3.0 | -2.8 |
Nov-22 | -11.8 | -7.0 | -0.1 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 12.8 | -1.7 | 2.0 | -5.2 | -4.9 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 3.1 | -2.9 | 22.4 | 36.9 | 45.3 | 42.1 | 22.1 | 2.3 | 12.0 | 12.2 |
Nov-21 | 46.2 | 81.6 | 46.8 | 52.5 | 62.7 | 32.6 | 46.1 | 25.4 | 56.1 | 56.4 |
Nov-22 | 10.1 | 11.0 | 21.9 | 6.8 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 21.0 | 23.5 | 11.3 | 11.6 |
Data refers to original series unless otherwise stated
Private sector
NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | NT | ACT | Australia | Australia (Seasonally adjusted) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change from previous quarter | ||||||||||
Aug-21 | -17.0 | -8.5 | 5.4 | -17.1 | 12.1 | -16.4 | 21.1 | -8.4 | -6.0 | -11.5 |
Nov-21 | 30.3 | 31.8 | -2.0 | 34.4 | 17.4 | 16.0 | 3.6 | 26.1 | 21.1 | 20.8 |
Feb-22 | 6.9 | -3.9 | 9.1 | 4.8 | 9.9 | 15.1 | 37.4 | 10.5 | 5.4 | 6.1 |
May-22 | 11.4 | 18.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | -2.7 | 2.7 | -12.3 | 3.4 | 7.7 | 13.9 |
Aug-22 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 2.1 | -7.0 | -18.1 | 1.5 | -14.5 | 2.3 | -3.9 |
Nov-22 | -13.7 | -7.4 | -1.0 | -0.4 | 1.3 | 12.1 | -2.8 | 7.8 | -6.1 | -6.0 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 3.2 | -3.8 | 23.9 | 40.6 | 49.0 | 48.1 | 16.9 | 13.9 | 12.9 | 13.1 |
Nov-21 | 49.2 | 84.7 | 47.6 | 56.7 | 62.7 | 31.0 | 48.9 | 28.4 | 58.5 | 58.8 |
Nov-22 | 5.7 | 10.4 | 20.0 | 6.9 | 0.7 | 8.5 | 18.9 | 5.3 | 9.0 | 9.2 |
Data refers to original series unless otherwise stated
Public sector
NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | NT | ACT | Australia | Australia (Seasonally adjusted) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Change from previous quarter | ||||||||||
Aug-21 | -1.8 | 9.4 | -1.5 | -6.0 | 20.3 | 48.9 | 21.0 | -10.2 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
Nov-21 | -1.2 | 16.1 | 23.7 | 16.5 | 9.5 | 24.4 | -8.3 | 16.9 | 10.4 | 12.2 |
Feb-22 | 15.2 | -4.6 | 12.1 | -9.1 | -0.5 | -30.4 | 31.9 | 34.6 | 6.4 | 9.1 |
May-22 | 14.3 | 15.4 | 5.4 | -2.2 | 11.4 | 3.8 | 11.2 | 19.2 | 11.7 | 8.5 |
Aug-22 | 13.3 | 10.5 | 11.4 | 11.3 | -4.4 | -3.9 | -13.5 | 26.0 | 10.2 | 8.8 |
Nov-22 | 6.6 | -3.0 | 10.0 | 6.8 | 10.9 | 17.5 | 4.0 | -7.8 | 4.1 | 6.0 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 2.6 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 18.4 | 7.0 | 16.3 | 53.3 | -22.4 | 4.7 | 4.8 |
Nov-21 | 19.1 | 51.6 | 37.7 | 27.2 | 62.4 | 41.8 | 33.1 | 15.8 | 34.5 | 34.7 |
Nov-22 | 59.1 | 18.0 | 44.8 | 5.7 | 17.5 | -18.4 | 32.0 | 86.5 | 36.3 | 36.6 |
Data refers to original series unless otherwise stated
Industry
Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mining | 8.4 | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 9.8 |
Manufacturing | 23.2 | 29.5 | 30.6 | 28.9 | 28.3 | 25.9 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
Construction | 23.2 | 30.0 | 35.2 | 39.9 | 33.5 | 29.9 |
Wholesale trade | 14.4 | 16.7 | 21.7 | 19.2 | 20.5 | 16.6 |
Retail trade | 33.6 | 36.0 | 29.1 | 40.3 | 46.1 | 49.9 |
Accommodation and food services | 27.6 | 45.8 | 46.1 | 51.9 | 59.1 | 56.3 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 11.5 | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.2 | 17.7 | 15.4 |
Information media and telecommunications | 3.5 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.3 |
Financial and insurance services | 15.8 | 17.0 | 18.1 | 20.2 | 18.6 | 16.8 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 5.8 | 8.5 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 9.4 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 31.7 | 37.1 | 42.1 | 42.9 | 44.1 | 40.8 |
Administrative and support services | 36.8 | 39.9 | 40.6 | 38.2 | 38.0 | 41.3 |
Public administration and safety | 17.5 | 18.9 | 21.5 | 24.1 | 27.5 | 30.1 |
Education and training | 9.8 | 10.2 | 11.6 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 11.1 |
Health care and social assistance | 51.2 | 60.2 | 60.2 | 68.9 | 74.3 | 62.7 |
Arts and recreation services | 3.9 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.8 |
Other services | 16.0 | 16.1 | 20.7 | 21.1 | 18.8 | 18.0 |
Data Downloads
Trend estimates suspension
Trend estimates have been suspended from May 2020 for all job vacancies series due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market.
Time series spreadsheets
Table 1. Job vacancies, states and territories ('000)
Table 2. Job vacancies, private sector, states and territories ('000)
Table 3. Job vacancies, public sector, states and territories ('000)
Table 4. Job vacancies, industry, Australia ('000) - original
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6354.0.