Feb-22 | Quarterly Change | Annual Change | |
---|---|---|---|
'000 | % | % | |
Private sector | 386.2 | 6.7 | 48.0 |
Public sector | 37.3 | 8.6 | 34.2 |
Private and public sectors | 423.5 | 6.9 | 46.6 |
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 February 2022:
- Total job vacancies were 423,500, an increase of 6.9% from November 2021.
- Private sector vacancies were 386,200, an increase of 6.7% from November 2021.
- Public sector vacancies were 37,300, an increase of 8.6% from November 2021.
Survey impacts and changes
Continuing use of forward factors for seasonal adjustment
Suspension of trend estimates
Survey response remains high in February
Other measures of labour demand
Job vacancies over time
Job vacancies increased by 6.9% (27,300 vacancies) in the three months to February 2022 (seasonally adjusted). The estimates captured a point in time after the initial peak of the Omicron wave but when there was still considerable disruption in the labour market.
The level of job vacancies in February 2022 was 86% higher than in February 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic. The ongoing high level of vacancies reflects the pace of recovery in labour demand from the fall in May 2020, as well as businesses across the economy indicating labour shortages and ongoing disruptions to operations.
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 May 2020, a much lower proportion of businesses reported at least one vacancy (6.5%). By February 2022, this had increased to 23.5% of businesses, after a slight fall in August 2021.
Feb-20 | May-20 | Aug-20 | Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
New South Wales | 12.1 | 5.8 | 11.6 | 15.1 | 19.6 | 22.9 | 19.4 | 22.3 | 24.2 |
Victoria | 11.2 | 6.0 | 11.5 | 15.5 | 18.0 | 22.0 | 18.8 | 21.2 | 22.9 |
Queensland | 10.4 | 10.5 | 13.7 | 12.9 | 17.4 | 22.6 | 26.9 | 20.0 | 26.0 |
South Australia | 8.1 | 2.9 | 8.8 | 9.1 | 15.7 | 15.6 | 13.1 | 14.7 | 17.6 |
Western Australia | 10.2 | 5.5 | 15.6 | 16.7 | 16.3 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 19.5 | 22.4 |
Tasmania | 8.3 | 4.5 | 10.7 | 14.2 | 17.8 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 18.5 | 19.2 |
Northern Territory | 9.2 | 6.7 | 20.7 | 21.0 | 21.8 | 26.5 | 20.8 | 23.1 | 27.8 |
Australian Capital Territory | 9.4 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 17.3 | 12.1 | 13.8 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 16.6 |
Australia | 11 | 6.5 | 12.1 | 14.7 | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 |
Feb-20 | May-20 | Aug-20 | Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Mining | 20.9 | 8.3 | 16.1 | 16.3 | 21.1 | 11.0 | 18.1 | 17.1 | 27.8 |
Manufacturing | 8.0 | 4.4 | 14.0 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 15.1 | 22.9 | 24.9 | 29.6 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 10.2 | 11.8 | 21.9 | 18.5 | 13.9 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 21.3 | 39.2 |
Construction | 13.6 | 4.6 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 22.8 | 26.9 | 23.3 | 21.5 | 24.3 |
Wholesale trade | 14.6 | 14.1 | 14.0 | 17.8 | 15.2 | 23.6 | 22.3 | 20.5 | 29.5 |
Retail trade | 13.3 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 17.8 | 16.4 | 21.6 | 21.4 | 15.9 | 16.6 |
Accommodation and food services | 14.5 | 2.3 | 13.9 | 16.9 | 30.5 | 30.5 | 18.3 | 30.9 | 32.4 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 5.3 | 4.1 | 10.7 | 4.3 | 20.2 | 22.0 | 15.7 | 17.3 | 22.4 |
Information media and telecommunications | 14.0 | 7.0 | 5.2 | 14.0 | 18.3 | 20.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 19.8 |
Financial and insurance services | 4.5 | 5.0 | 6.6 | 15.7 | 16.9 | 20.5 | 10.3 | 5.5 | 14.8 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 6.9 | 4.1 | 11.8 | 12.8 | 11.1 | 16.9 | 19.3 | 15.1 | 20.1 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 9.4 | 9.2 | 14.8 | 14.2 | 14.5 | 16.4 | 15.4 | 16.6 | 17.6 |
Administrative and support services | 16.5 | 7.8 | 16.2 | 18.9 | 17.1 | 23.6 | 29.8 | 30.5 | 36.2 |
Public administration and safety | 31.3 | 22.6 | 27.9 | 35.4 | 30.0 | 42.2 | 29.8 | 27.5 | 33.5 |
Education and training | 7.5 | 4.0 | 10.8 | 5.2 | 8.6 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 9.1 | 9.9 |
Health care and social assistance | 8.2 | 6.5 | 8.9 | 13.6 | 13.4 | 23.3 | 21.2 | 26.7 | 18.9 |
Arts and recreation services | 3.4 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 21.0 | 3.1 | 14.0 | 9.3 | 6.7 | 8.3 |
Other services | 10.6 | 5.6 | 11.1 | 16.7 | 21.1 | 22.8 | 28.1 | 25.4 | 32.7 |
All industries | 11.0 | 6.5 | 12.1 | 14.7 | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 |
Feb-20 | May-20 | Aug-20 | Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Replacement/resignations | 78.6 | 72.9 | 75.3 | 75.1 | 76.2 | 76.0 | 75.1 | 77.4 | 79.7 |
Increased workload | 35.9 | 32.0 | 36.7 | 41.3 | 44.5 | 45.4 | 42.3 | 45.9 | 47.8 |
Expansion of business | 25.4 | 15.7 | 19.9 | 21.2 | 25.4 | 26.8 | 25.3 | 25.7 | 25.9 |
Restructure | 16.6 | 14.1 | 14.6 | 16.8 | 14.0 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 13.8 | 13.9 |
Relocation | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
Seasonal | 10.7 | 9.0 | 11.7 | 16.4 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 11.4 | 19.0 | 12.0 |
Special event | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 |
Takeover | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 |
Other | 6.5 | 11.6 | 11.9 | 10.9 | 8.8 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.9 |
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 | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 32.9 | 27.6 | 13.7 | 24.6 | 16.2 | 50.4 | 0.1 | 40.4 | 24.6 | 23.0 |
Feb-21 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 24.2 | 6.8 | 10.2 | 13.1 | 3.5 | 12.3 | 13.9 |
May-21 | 20.0 | 33.4 | 25.6 | 10.4 | 15.6 | 14.4 | 5.1 | 7.2 | 22.1 | 28.1 |
Aug-21 | -15.6 | -7.1 | 5.0 | -15.8 | 12.7 | -10.3 | 21.1 | -8.8 | -5.2 | -9.8 |
Nov-21 | 27.0 | 30.4 | -0.4 | 31.9 | 16.9 | 17.3 | 1.5 | 23.9 | 20.1 | 18.8 |
Feb-22 | 7.5 | -4.0 | 9.4 | 3.1 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 36.6 | 15.9 | 5.5 | 6.9 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-20 | -5.6 | -7.0 | 4.9 | 24.6 | 0.5 | 15.3 | -21.0 | 0.1 | -2.2 | -2.0 |
Feb-21 | 18.5 | 10.0 | 39.6 | 65.6 | 44.8 | 66.0 | 68.0 | 22.8 | 26.8 | 26.8 |
Feb-22 | 38.3 | 55.1 | 43.6 | 26.5 | 66.3 | 29.5 | 76.4 | 40.4 | 46.7 | 46.6 |
Private sector
NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | NT | ACT | Australia | Australia (Seasonally adjusted) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Change from previous quarter | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 35.4 | 30.0 | 12.1 | 25.2 | 16.1 | 53.2 | -2.9 | 62.1 | 25.6 | 24.0 |
Feb-21 | 15.4 | 12.6 | 11.7 | 30.2 | 5.0 | 17.8 | 8.7 | 0.7 | 12.9 | 14.4 |
May-21 | 19.5 | 36.1 | 27.8 | 8.1 | 17.7 | 14.6 | 9.1 | 10.5 | 23.3 | 30.0 |
Aug-21 | -17.0 | -8.5 | 5.4 | -17.1 | 12.1 | -16.4 | 21.1 | -8.4 | -6.0 | -10.9 |
Nov-21 | 30.3 | 31.8 | -2.0 | 34.4 | 17.4 | 16.0 | 3.6 | 26.1 | 21.1 | 19.7 |
Feb-22 | 6.9 | -3.9 | 9.1 | 4.8 | 9.9 | 15.1 | 37.4 | 10.5 | 5.4 | 6.7 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-20 | -7.7 | -8.8 | 3.2 | 27.2 | -1.9 | 19.2 | -34.6 | 2.3 | -4.2 | -4.0 |
Feb-21 | 20.4 | 10.8 | 41.0 | 73.4 | 45.0 | 75.4 | 84.5 | 22.1 | 28.5 | 28.6 |
Feb-22 | 38.2 | 57.6 | 44.1 | 26.1 | 70.3 | 28.0 | 88.2 | 41.0 | 47.9 | 48.0 |
Public sector
NSW | Vic | Qld | SA | WA | Tas | NT | ACT | Australia | Australia (Seasonally adjusted) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | % | |
Change from previous quarter | ||||||||||
Nov-20 | 13.9 | 8.5 | 34.7 | 21.2 | 17.9 | 36.3 | 16.7 | -1.2 | 15.7 | 15.2 |
Feb-21 | -2.1 | 10.7 | 12.1 | -11.5 | 33.4 | -31.7 | 33.4 | 12.5 | 6.5 | 8.9 |
May-21 | 25.4 | 7.8 | 0.8 | 31.3 | -7.6 | 11.9 | -10.1 | -1.9 | 10.4 | 10.0 |
Aug-21 | -1.8 | 9.4 | -1.5 | -6.0 | 20.3 | 48.9 | 21.0 | -10.2 | 3.6 | 2.3 |
Nov-21 | -1.2 | 16.1 | 23.7 | 16.5 | 9.5 | 24.4 | -8.3 | 16.9 | 10.4 | 9.7 |
Feb-22 | 15.2 | -4.6 | 12.1 | -9.1 | -0.5 | -30.4 | 31.9 | 34.6 | 6.4 | 8.6 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-20 | 19.5 | 13.9 | 26.8 | 11.3 | 39.9 | -3.9 | 68.3 | -5.8 | 18.3 | 17.8 |
Feb-21 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 19.2 | 42.3 | 9.9 | 25.4 | 24.8 | 12.8 | 12.6 |
Feb-22 | 40.2 | 30.7 | 37.8 | 30.7 | 21.1 | 44.4 | 31.6 | 38.6 | 34.4 | 34.2 |
Industry
Nov-20 | Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mining | 6.3 | 7.5 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 9.7 | 10.6 |
Manufacturing | 15.3 | 16.6 | 20.7 | 23.2 | 29.5 | 30.6 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
Construction | 17.9 | 26.7 | 29.9 | 23.2 | 30.0 | 35.2 |
Wholesale trade | 13.4 | 14.0 | 17.8 | 14.4 | 16.7 | 21.7 |
Retail trade | 25.7 | 24.9 | 34.3 | 33.6 | 36.0 | 29.1 |
Accommodation and food services | 22.4 | 27.6 | 38.2 | 27.6 | 45.8 | 46.1 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 6.6 | 9.3 | 10.6 | 11.5 | 13.3 | 14.7 |
Information media and telecommunications | 2.7 | 3.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 4.7 | 4.5 |
Financial and insurance services | 12.8 | 14.7 | 17.9 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 18.1 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 4.4 | 4.6 | 7.8 | 5.8 | 8.5 | 9.3 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 27.0 | 31.2 | 31.9 | 31.7 | 37.1 | 42.1 |
Administrative and support services | 26.8 | 28.6 | 35.2 | 36.8 | 39.9 | 40.6 |
Public administration and safety | 16.7 | 15.0 | 17.2 | 17.5 | 18.9 | 21.5 |
Education and training | 6.7 | 8.5 | 10.5 | 9.8 | 10.2 | 11.6 |
Health care and social assistance | 37.7 | 39.1 | 47.7 | 51.2 | 60.2 | 60.2 |
Arts and recreation services | 4.0 | 2.6 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 7.4 | 6.2 |
Other services | 10.6 | 13.6 | 15.4 | 16.0 | 16.1 | 20.7 |
All figures are original
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, state and territories ('000)
Table 2. Job vacancies, private sector, state and territories ('000)
Table 3. Job vacancies, public sector, state and territories ('000)
Table 4. Job vacancies, industry, Australia ('000) - original
ABS website changes
Update to thematic grouping and navigation on the ABS website
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6354.0.