Feb-2023 | Quarterly Change | Annual Change | |
---|---|---|---|
'000 | % | % | |
Private sector | 391.8 | -1.5 | 1.7 |
Public sector | 46.7 | -1.4 | 23.4 |
Private and public sectors | 438.5 | -1.5 | 3.6 |
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 2023:
- Total job vacancies were 438,500, a decrease of 1.5% from November 2022.
- Private sector vacancies were 391,800, a decrease of 1.5% from November 2022.
- Public sector vacancies were 46,700, a decrease of 1.4% from November 2022.
Survey impacts and changes
Reinstating trend estimates
Since the May 2020 Job Vacancies release, the ABS has used a ‘forward factors’ method for seasonal adjustment, which is better suited to managing time series during the pandemic. The ABS also suspended trend series.
The ABS is expecting to reinstate Job Vacancies trend estimates and revert to ‘concurrent’ seasonal adjustment with the May 2023 release.
Other measures of labour demand
Job vacancies over time
Job vacancies decreased by 1.5% (6,600 vacancies) in the three months to February 2023 (seasonally adjusted). The decline in job vacancies this quarter was driven by Retail trade. Despite this being the third consecutive quarterly decrease, the level of job vacancies in February 2023 remained elevated. Job vacancies were 92.4% 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 most 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%. In February 2023, in line with the decrease in the number of vacancies, the proportion of businesses reporting at least one vacancy also decreased to 24.3%.
Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | Feb-23 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New South Wales | 19.6 | 22.9 | 19.4 | 22.3 | 24.2 | 26.2 | 28.9 | 28.0 | 27.4 |
Victoria | 18.0 | 22.0 | 18.8 | 21.2 | 22.9 | 27.3 | 27.1 | 29.2 | 25.4 |
Queensland | 17.4 | 22.6 | 26.9 | 20.0 | 26.0 | 22.8 | 26.7 | 28.3 | 22.6 |
South Australia | 15.7 | 15.6 | 13.1 | 14.7 | 17.6 | 17.3 | 19.7 | 18.4 | 16.0 |
Western Australia | 16.3 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 19.5 | 22.4 | 28.3 | 25.2 | 29.4 | 21.6 |
Tasmania | 17.8 | 21.8 | 15.1 | 18.5 | 19.2 | 19.1 | 14.0 | 22.0 | 15.6 |
Northern Territory | 21.8 | 26.5 | 20.8 | 23.1 | 27.8 | 31.6 | 36.5 | 35.6 | 26.4 |
Australian Capital Territory | 12.1 | 13.8 | 9.4 | 13.4 | 16.6 | 13.7 | 15.5 | 13.7 | 16.0 |
Australia | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 | 25.2 | 26.7 | 27.7 | 24.3 |
Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | Feb-23 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mining | 21.1 | 11.0 | 18.1 | 17.1 | 27.8 | 24.8 | 19.3 | 27.1 | 26.0 |
Manufacturing | 15.3 | 15.1 | 22.9 | 24.9 | 29.6 | 22.3 | 25.9 | 23.8 | 26.8 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 13.9 | 12.8 | 9.9 | 21.3 | 39.2 | 34.5 | 13.1 | 31.0 | 25.2 |
Construction | 22.8 | 26.9 | 23.3 | 21.5 | 24.3 | 30.3 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 24.2 |
Wholesale trade | 15.2 | 23.6 | 22.3 | 20.5 | 29.5 | 16.8 | 26.1 | 19.9 | 23.4 |
Retail trade | 16.4 | 21.6 | 21.4 | 15.9 | 16.6 | 17.7 | 23.8 | 31.5 | 23.0 |
Accommodation and food services | 30.5 | 30.5 | 18.3 | 30.9 | 32.4 | 34.0 | 42.5 | 45.3 | 41.7 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 20.2 | 22.0 | 15.7 | 17.3 | 22.4 | 22.6 | 25.8 | 21.5 | 16.6 |
Information media and telecommunications | 18.3 | 20.0 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 19.8 | 26.7 | 20.4 | 29.0 | 21.4 |
Financial and insurance services | 16.9 | 20.5 | 10.3 | 5.5 | 14.8 | 20.0 | 8.2 | 21.7 | 7.4 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 11.1 | 16.9 | 19.3 | 15.1 | 20.1 | 25.2 | 27.3 | 26.1 | 13.9 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 14.5 | 16.4 | 15.4 | 16.6 | 17.6 | 18.0 | 19.4 | 24.8 | 19.6 |
Administrative and support services | 17.1 | 23.6 | 29.8 | 30.5 | 36.2 | 38.3 | 32.8 | 36.8 | 26.7 |
Public administration and safety | 30.0 | 42.2 | 29.8 | 27.5 | 33.5 | 37.9 | 37.4 | 35.0 | 43.3 |
Education and training | 8.6 | 11.5 | 9.7 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 14.6 | 8.3 | 7.7 | 28.9 |
Health care and social assistance | 13.4 | 23.3 | 21.2 | 26.7 | 18.9 | 26.7 | 33.4 | 17.5 | 30.8 |
Arts and recreation services | 3.1 | 14.0 | 9.3 | 6.7 | 8.3 | 10.2 | 4.7 | 9.3 | 18.6 |
Other services | 21.1 | 22.8 | 28.1 | 25.4 | 32.7 | 32.7 | 34.4 | 36.7 | 25.3 |
All industries | 18.1 | 22.0 | 20.3 | 20.7 | 23.5 | 25.2 | 26.7 | 27.7 | 24.3 |
Feb-21 | May-21 | Aug-21 | Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | Feb-23 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Replacement/resignations | 76.2 | 76.0 | 75.1 | 77.4 | 79.7 | 80.4 | 78.2 | 77.1 | 79.6 |
Increased workload | 44.5 | 45.4 | 42.3 | 45.9 | 47.8 | 47.0 | 45.4 | 44.0 | 44.0 |
Expansion of business | 25.4 | 26.8 | 25.3 | 25.7 | 25.9 | 27.8 | 27.8 | 25.6 | 26.7 |
Restructure | 14.0 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 13.8 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 13.2 | 12.8 | 13.7 |
Relocation | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 1.1 |
Seasonal | 10.1 | 10.0 | 11.4 | 19.0 | 12.0 | 11.6 | 14.1 | 18.1 | 12.3 |
Special event | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.8 |
Takeover | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
Other | 8.8 | 10.3 | 11.8 | 12.0 | 12.9 | 8.6 | 7.1 | 6.4 | 9.8 |
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-21 | 27.0 | 30.4 | -0.4 | 31.9 | 16.9 | 17.3 | 1.5 | 23.9 | 20.1 | 20.1 |
Feb-22 | 7.5 | -4.0 | 9.4 | 3.1 | 9.2 | 7.6 | 36.6 | 15.9 | 5.5 | 6.2 |
May-22 | 11.6 | 18.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | -1.9 | 2.8 | -8.7 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 13.5 |
Aug-22 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 9.1 | 3.1 | -6.8 | -16.6 | -1.3 | -2.9 | 3.0 | -2.9 |
Nov-22 | -11.8 | -7.0 | -0.1 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 12.8 | -1.7 | 2.0 | -5.2 | -4.6 |
Feb-23 | 9.0 | -5.9 | -0.8 | -9.4 | -14.8 | 8.4 | -8.4 | -5.8 | -1.8 | -1.5 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-21 | 18.5 | 10.0 | 39.6 | 65.6 | 44.8 | 66.0 | 68.0 | 22.8 | 26.8 | 26.7 |
Feb-22 | 38.3 | 55.1 | 43.6 | 26.5 | 66.3 | 29.5 | 76.4 | 40.4 | 46.7 | 46.5 |
Feb-23 | 11.5 | 8.8 | 10.5 | -6.2 | -20.6 | 4.8 | -18.9 | 0.3 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
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 | ||||||||||
Nov-21 | 30.3 | 31.8 | -2.0 | 34.4 | 17.4 | 16.0 | 3.6 | 26.1 | 21.1 | 21.0 |
Feb-22 | 6.9 | -3.9 | 9.1 | 4.8 | 9.9 | 15.1 | 37.4 | 10.5 | 5.4 | 5.9 |
May-22 | 11.4 | 18.2 | 1.9 | 0.3 | -2.7 | 2.7 | -12.3 | 3.4 | 7.7 | 14.0 |
Aug-22 | 3.0 | 5.0 | 8.9 | 2.1 | -7.0 | -18.1 | 1.5 | -14.5 | 2.3 | -4.0 |
Nov-22 | -13.7 | -7.4 | -1.0 | -0.4 | 1.3 | 12.1 | -2.8 | 7.8 | -6.1 | -5.7 |
Feb-23 | 10.8 | -7.8 | -0.4 | -11.2 | -14.1 | 9.2 | -8.7 | 2.7 | -1.6 | -1.5 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-21 | 20.4 | 10.8 | 41.0 | 73.4 | 45.0 | 75.4 | 84.5 | 22.1 | 28.5 | 28.5 |
Feb-22 | 38.2 | 57.6 | 44.1 | 26.1 | 70.3 | 28.0 | 88.2 | 41.0 | 47.9 | 47.9 |
Feb-23 | 9.6 | 6.0 | 9.5 | -9.4 | -21.3 | 3.0 | -21.1 | -2.1 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
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 | ||||||||||
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 |
Feb-23 | -4.8 | 14.7 | -5.7 | 4.3 | -23.6 | 2.7 | -7.2 | -22.7 | -3.5 | -1.4 |
Change from corresponding quarter of previous year | ||||||||||
Feb-21 | 1.4 | 3.0 | 25.4 | 19.2 | 42.3 | 9.9 | 25.4 | 24.8 | 12.8 | 12.7 |
Feb-22 | 40.2 | 30.7 | 37.8 | 30.7 | 21.1 | 44.4 | 31.6 | 38.6 | 34.4 | 34.3 |
Feb-23 | 31.5 | 41.9 | 21.8 | 21.2 | -9.7 | 20.4 | -7.1 | 7.1 | 23.6 | 23.4 |
Data refers to original series unless otherwise stated
Industry
Nov-21 | Feb-22 | May-22 | Aug-22 | Nov-22 | Feb-23 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mining | 9.7 | 10.6 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 9.8 | 10.6 |
Manufacturing | 29.5 | 30.6 | 28.9 | 28.3 | 25.9 | 25.1 |
Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.5 |
Construction | 30.0 | 35.2 | 39.9 | 33.5 | 29.9 | 31.2 |
Wholesale trade | 16.7 | 21.7 | 19.2 | 20.5 | 16.6 | 16.5 |
Retail trade | 36.0 | 29.1 | 40.3 | 46.1 | 49.9 | 36.4 |
Accommodation and food services | 45.8 | 46.1 | 51.9 | 59.1 | 56.3 | 57.8 |
Transport, postal and warehousing | 13.3 | 14.7 | 15.2 | 17.7 | 15.4 | 14.6 |
Information media and telecommunications | 4.7 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 3.6 |
Financial and insurance services | 17.0 | 18.1 | 20.2 | 18.6 | 16.8 | 14.9 |
Rental, hiring and real estate services | 8.5 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 10.1 | 9.4 | 5.9 |
Professional, scientific and technical services | 37.1 | 42.1 | 42.9 | 44.1 | 40.8 | 47.6 |
Administrative and support services | 39.9 | 40.6 | 38.2 | 38.0 | 41.3 | 38.4 |
Public administration and safety | 18.9 | 21.5 | 24.1 | 27.5 | 30.1 | 26.4 |
Education and training | 10.2 | 11.6 | 12.7 | 11.2 | 11.1 | 13.5 |
Health care and social assistance | 60.2 | 60.2 | 68.9 | 74.3 | 62.7 | 72.4 |
Arts and recreation services | 7.4 | 6.2 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 7.8 | 6.6 |
Other services | 16.1 | 20.7 | 21.1 | 18.8 | 18.0 | 16.5 |
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.