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Job Vacancies, Australia

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Results of the quarterly Job Vacancies Survey containing estimates of job vacancies classified by industry, sector and state/territory.

Reference period

November 2020

Released

13/01/2021

View all releases

Key statistics

The seasonally adjusted estimates for the November 2020 quarter are as follows :

Total job vacancies were 254,400, an increase of 23.4% from August 2020.
Private sector vacancies were 228,800, an increase of 24.2% from August 2020.
Public sector vacancies were 25,600, an increase of 16.9% from August 2020.

	Nov 2020 ('000)	Aug 2020 to Nov 2020 (% change)	Nov 2019 to Nov 2020 (% change)
Private sector	228.8	24.2	12.9
Public sector	25.6	16.9	4.8
Private and public sectors	254.4	23.4	12.1

Job vacancies ('000) total & private sector - seasonally adjusted
	Total	Private
Nov-12	164.8	152.5
Feb-13	149.8	138.5
May-13	143.5	132.4
Aug-13	140.6	129.1
Nov-13	138.9	128.9
Feb-14	143.2	133
May-14	147.4	135.1
Aug-14	146.6	134.2
Nov-14	149.7	137.2
Feb-15	151.9	138.6
May-15	157.7	145.1
Aug-15	161.7	148.2
Nov-15	167.4	151.7
Feb-16	172.3	156.6
May-16	171.1	154.6
Aug-16	177.4	160.4
Nov-16	182.2	164.8
Feb-17	185.1	166.8
May-17	185.6	166.8
Aug-17	200.9	181.2
Nov-17	204.4	186.1
Feb-18	212.8	193.1
May-18	223.8	203.2
Aug-18	228.6	208
Nov-18	230.4	208.9
Feb-19	232.3	211
May-19	228	205.8
Aug-19	224.2	200.6
Nov-19	227	202.6
Feb-20	227.3	202.1
May-20	129.2	111.3
Aug-20	206.1	184.3
Nov-20	254.4	228.8

Job vacancies ('000) total & private sector - seasonally adjusted

["","Total","Private"]

[["Nov-12","Feb-13","May-13","Aug-13","Nov-13","Feb-14","May-14","Aug-14","Nov-14","Feb-15","May-15","Aug-15","Nov-15","Feb-16","May-16","Aug-16","Nov-16","Feb-17","May-17","Aug-17","Nov-17","Feb-18","May-18","Aug-18","Nov-18","Feb-19","May-19","Aug-19","Nov-19","Feb-20","May-20","Aug-20","Nov-20"],[[164.80000000000001],[149.80000000000001],[143.5],[140.59999999999999],[138.90000000000001],[143.19999999999999],[147.40000000000001],[146.59999999999999],[149.69999999999999],[151.90000000000001],[157.69999999999999],[161.69999999999999],[167.40000000000001],[172.30000000000001],[171.09999999999999],[177.40000000000001],[182.19999999999999],[185.09999999999999],[185.59999999999999],[200.90000000000001],[204.40000000000001],[212.80000000000001],[223.80000000000001],[228.59999999999999],[230.40000000000001],[232.30000000000001],[228],[224.19999999999999],[227],[227.30000000000001],[129.19999999999999],[206.09999999999999],[254.40000000000001]],[[152.5],[138.5],[132.40000000000001],[129.09999999999999],[128.90000000000001],[133],[135.09999999999999],[134.19999999999999],[137.19999999999999],[138.59999999999999],[145.09999999999999],[148.19999999999999],[151.69999999999999],[156.59999999999999],[154.59999999999999],[160.40000000000001],[164.80000000000001],[166.80000000000001],[166.80000000000001],[181.19999999999999],[186.09999999999999],[193.09999999999999],[203.19999999999999],[208],[208.90000000000001],[211],[205.80000000000001],[200.59999999999999],[202.59999999999999],[202.09999999999999],[111.3],[184.30000000000001],[228.80000000000001]]]

[]

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Survey Impacts

Continued suspension of trend estimates

Survey responses remain high in November

Comparing job vacancies with other measures of labour demand

COVID-19 impacts on job vacancies

Job vacancies ('000), Australia - seasonally adjusted
	Job vacancies
Nov-80	38.7
Feb-81	37.4
May-81	44
Aug-81	44.5
Nov-81	41.7
Feb-82	37.3
May-82	30.3
Aug-82	26.8
Nov-82	30.3
Feb-83	29.7
May-83	32.4
Aug-83	33.6
Nov-83	36.3
Feb-84	44.6
May-84	40.3
Aug-84	48.5
Nov-84	49.8
Feb-85	60.4
May-85	68.6
Aug-85	67.2
Nov-85	66.2
Feb-86	64.8
May-86	66.1
Aug-86	61.1
Nov-86	66.3
Feb-87	69.5
May-87	66.9
Aug-87	70.1
Nov-87	66.9
Feb-88	70.2
May-88	74.4
Aug-88	80.8
Nov-88	85.1
Feb-89	84.7
May-89	93.7
Aug-89	76.6
Nov-89	79.2
Feb-90	71.9
May-90	64
Aug-90	56.7
Nov-90	41.6
Feb-91	33.8
May-91	31.6
Aug-91	29.8
Nov-91	30.9
Feb-92	33.3
May-92	31.9
Aug-92	33
Nov-92	36.9
Feb-93	37
May-93	42
Aug-93	46.2
Nov-93	48.5
Feb-94	57.6
May-94	69.5
Aug-94	82.2
Nov-94	85.6
Feb-95	72.7
May-95	77.3
Aug-95	74.6
Nov-95	72.5
Feb-96	81
May-96	76.7
Aug-96	77.5
Nov-96	82.5
Feb-97	81.3
May-97	82.8
Aug-97	84.9
Nov-97	90.4
Feb-98	98.3
May-98	104
Aug-98	89.8
Nov-98	102
Feb-99	87.2
May-99	100.2
Aug-99	106.9
Nov-99	109.6
Feb-00	118.1
May-00	115.9
Aug-00	114.4
Nov-00	114.8
Feb-01	99.7
May-01	94
Aug-01	90.2
Nov-01	88.5
Feb-02	90.5
May-02	96.2
Aug-02	103
Nov-02	97.6
Feb-03	109.7
May-03	104.6
Aug-03	104.1
Nov-03	107.5
Feb-04	103.8
May-04	127.1
Aug-04	124.6
Nov-04	139.2
Feb-05	146.2
May-05	140.9
Aug-05	139
Nov-05	134.1
Feb-06	144.3
May-06	154.1
Aug-06	154.9
Nov-06	162.1
Feb-07	160.8
May-07	168.6
Aug-07	173.3
Nov-07	183.3
Feb-08	178.2
May-08	184.5
Aug-08
Nov-08
Feb-09
May-09
Aug-09
Nov-09	148.9
Feb-10	168.4
May-10	170.3
Aug-10	178.6
Nov-10	191.1
Feb-11	189.4
May-11	187.3
Aug-11	183.4
Nov-11	179.3
Feb-12	181.8
May-12	178.1
Aug-12	175.3
Nov-12	164.8
Feb-13	149.8
May-13	143.5
Aug-13	140.6
Nov-13	138.9
Feb-14	143.2
May-14	147.4
Aug-14	146.6
Nov-14	149.7
Feb-15	151.9
May-15	157.7
Aug-15	161.7
Nov-15	167.4
Feb-16	172.3
May-16	171.1
Aug-16	177.4
Nov-16	182.2
Feb-17	185.1
May-17	185.6
Aug-17	200.9
Nov-17	204.4
Feb-18	212.8
May-18	223.8
Aug-18	228.6
Nov-18	230.4
Feb-19	232.3
May-19	228
Aug-19	224.2
Nov-19	227
Feb-20	227.3
May-20	129.2
Aug-20	206.1
Nov-20	254.4

Job vacancies, states comparison during COVID-19 - original
	Feb 2020 ('000)	May 2020 ('000)	Aug 2020 ('000)	Nov 2020 ('000)
NSW	79.3	39.8	62.2	82.7
Vic.	59.7	28.7	45.8	58.4
Qld.	38.4	25.2	42.1	47.9
SA	11.7	6.8	12.5	15.6
WA	27.6	16.8	32.2	37.4
Tas.	3.4	1.9	3.4	5.1
NT	2.9	1.7	4.2	4.2
ACT	6.6	3.6	5.6	7.9

Job vacancies, annual change by industry - original
Industry	Annual change (%)
Rental, hiring and real estate services	61
Accommodation and food services	54.9
Arts and recreation services	41.6
Manufacturing	40.1
Health care and social assistance	34.7
Public administration and safety	29.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	20.4
Financial and insurance services	16.4
Professional, scientific and technical services	13.8
Wholesale trade	13.5
Construction	7.8
Retail trade	3.5
Mining	2.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	-6
Other services	-7.3
Education and training	-9
Information media and telecommunications	-17.3
Administrative and support services	-22.4

Proportion of businesses reporting vacancies - industry
	Nov-20	May-20	Nov-19
Mining	16.3%	8.3%	11.0%
Manufacturing	14.6%	4.4%	11.1%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	18.5%	11.8%	11.6%
Construction	13.0%	4.6%	14.0%
Wholesale trade	17.8%	14.1%	14.7%
Retail trade	17.8%	9.7%	16.8%
Accommodation and food services	16.9%	2.3%	16.1%
Transport, postal and warehousing	4.3%	4.1%	2.1%
Information media and telecommunications	14.0%	7.0%	5.6%
Financial and insurance services	15.7%	5.0%	12.8%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	12.8%	4.1%	10.2%
Professional, scientific and technical services	14.2%	9.2%	11.4%
Administrative and support services	18.9%	7.8%	31.6%
Public administration and safety	35.4%	22.6%	31.5%
Education and training	5.2%	4.0%	11.0%
Health care and social assistance	13.6%	6.5%	13.6%
Arts and recreation services	21.0%	0.5%	5.4%
Other services	16.7%	5.6%	16.1%
All Industries	14.7%	6.5%	14.0%

Proportion of businesses reporting vacancies - states and territories
	Nov-20	May-20	Nov-19
New South Wales	15.1%	5.8%	15.1%
Victoria	15.5%	6.0%	13.8%
Queensland	12.9%	10.5%	13.7%
South Australia	9.1%	2.9%	11.2%
Western Australia	16.7%	5.5%	11.7%
Tasmania	14.2%	4.5%	14.7%
Northern Territory	21.0%	6.7%	23.7%
Australian Capital Territory	17.3%	3.5%	10.4%
Australia	14.7%	6.5%	14.0%

States and territories

Job vacancies ('000), states and territories
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	72.8	61.2	39.1	11.3	26.4	3.6	4.3	7.6	226.3	224.2
Nov-19	80.2	60.1	39.2	11.4	25.7	3.6	3.5	7.7	231.4	227
Feb-20	79.3	59.7	38.4	11.7	27.6	3.4	2.9	6.6	229.5	227.3
May-20	39.8	28.7	25.2	6.8	16.8	1.9	1.7	3.6	124.5	129.2
Aug-20	62.2	45.8	42.1	12.5	32.2	3.4	4.2	5.6	208	206.1
Nov-20	82.7	58.4	47.9	15.6	37.4	5.1	4.2	7.9	259.2	254.4

Change from previous quarter (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	-5.6	1.8	17.9	1.2	13.6	11.3	3.1	12.2	3.3	-1.7
Nov-19	10.1	-1.7	0.2	0.4	-2.6	-0.7	-19.5	2	2.2	1.3
Feb-20	-1.1	-0.8	-2	2.7	7.3	-5.7	-17.8	-13.8	-0.8	0.1
May-20	-49.9	-51.9	-34.3	-41.6	-39.1	-45.7	-39.7	-46.2	-45.8	-43.1
Aug-20	56.4	59.5	67	83.2	91.4	84.7	146.3	57.2	67.1	59.5
Nov-20	32.9	27.6	13.7	24.6	16.2	50.4	0.1	40.4	24.6	23.4

Change from corresponding quarter of previous year (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Nov-18	6.2	10.8	9	18.1	45.5	39.3	26.1	9.2	12.7	12.7
Nov-19	-4	-2.4	3.7	6.2	-3.9	0.5	-8.9	10.2	-1.4	-1.5
Nov-20	3.1	-2.9	22.4	36.9	45.3	42.1	22.1	2.3	12	12.1

All figures are original unless stated otherwise
Trend figures are not currently available

Private sector, states and territories

Job vacancies ('000), private sector - states and territories
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	65.3	55.9	35.3	9.5	24.5	3	3.7	5.1	202.3	200.6
Nov-19	72.2	54.9	35.5	9.5	23.5	2.9	3	5.3	206.7	202.6
Feb-20	71.4	53.7	34.9	10	25.4	2.9	2.1	4.9	205.1	202.1
May-20	33.4	24.3	22.9	5.2	15.4	*1.6	1.3	2.5	106.5	111.3
Aug-20	55	40.6	39.2	10.6	30.2	2.8	3.6	3.7	185.7	184.3
Nov-20	74.4	52.8	44	13.3	35	4.4	3.5	6	233.3	228.8

Change from previous quarter (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	-6.1	2.4	17.2	-1	12.5	13.2	0.6	5	2.8	-2.5
Nov-19	10.4	-1.8	0.5	-0.5	-3.9	-3.3	-18.4	3.4	2.2	1
Feb-20	-1.1	-2.2	-1.8	5.6	7.9	-0.6	-31.1	-6.2	-0.7	-0.3
May-20	-53.2	-54.8	-34.3	-48.1	-39.2	-46.6	-39	-48.8	-48.1	-44.9
Aug-20	64.5	67.4	71.1	104.7	95.7	82	186.8	46.2	74.3	65.5
Nov-20	35.4	30	12.1	25.2	16.1	53.2	-2.9	62.1	25.6	24.2

Change from corresponding quarter of previous year (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Nov-18	7	7.9	7.5	13.7	49.3	42.9	26.4	16.7	12.2	12.2
Nov-19	-6.2	-1.3	2.3	3.3	-6	-4.7	-5	-0.5	-2.9	-3
Nov-20	3.2	-3.8	23.9	40.6	49	48.1	16.9	13.9	12.9	12.9

All figures are original unless stated otherwise
Trend figures are not currently available
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution

Public sector, states and territories

Job vacancies ('000), public sector - states and territories
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	7.5	5.3	3.8	1.8	2	0.6	*0.7	2.5	24	23.5
Nov-19	8	5.2	3.6	1.9	2.2	0.7	0.5	2.5	24.7	24.4
Feb-20	7.9	6	3.5	1.7	2.2	0.5	0.8	1.7	24.4	25.2
May-20	6.3	4.4	2.3	1.6	*1.4	0.3	0.5	1	17.9	17.9
Aug-20	7.2	5.1	2.9	1.8	2	0.6	*0.6	1.9	22.3	21.9
Nov-20	8.2	5.6	3.9	2.2	2.4	0.8	*0.8	1.9	25.8	25.6

Change from previous quarter (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Aug-19	-1.2	-4.3	24.2	14.6	30.2	2.2	19.7	30.6	8	5.9
Nov-19	7.3	-0.8	-2.9	5.1	14	12.6	-25.4	-0.8	2.7	3.5
Feb-20	-1	14.4	-3.6	-12.1	0.3	-27.7	63	-30	-1.2	3.3
May-20	-20.2	-26.1	-34.3	-2.7	-37.1	-40.8	-41.5	-38.8	-26.5	-28.9
Aug-20	14	16.1	26.4	14.3	43.8	99.1	37.8	83.5	24.6	22
Nov-20	13.9	8.5	34.7	21.2	17.9	36.3	16.7	-1.2	15.7	16.9

Change from corresponding quarter of previous year (%)
	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT	Australia	Australia (Seasonally Adjusted)
Nov-18	-2.3	48.6	30.6	54.5	7	21.3	24.7	-8.9	17.4	17.6
Nov-19	22.3	-12.7	19.8	23.7	25.5	31.3	-27.4	43	13	13.3
Nov-20	2.6	6.5	7.8	18.4	7	16.3	53.3	-22.4	4.7	4.8

All figures are original unless stated otherwise
Trend figures are not currently available
* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution

Industry

Job vacancies ('000), industry
	Aug-19	Nov-19	Feb-20	May-20	Aug-20	Nov-20
Mining	6.4	6.2	6.5	4.3	5.6	6.3
Manufacturing	11.6	10.9	12.2	7	13.5	15.3
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	2.2	1.8	2.1	1.6	1.9	2.2
Construction	14.9	16.6	16.6	8.3	15.9	17.9
Wholesale trade	10.4	11.8	12.6	6.5	9.9	13.4
Retail trade	22.1	24.8	18.9	11.4	18.5	25.7
Accommodation and food services	14.5	14.5	14.7	*5.0	13.5	22.4
Transport, postal and warehousing	6.4	7.1	7.5	3.3	5.5	6.6
Information media and telecommunications	2.7	3.3	3.4	2	2.4	2.7
Financial and insurance services	12.1	11	11.9	7.8	12.3	12.8
Rental, hiring and real estate services	4.1	2.7	3.2	*1.0	*3.6	4.4
Professional, scientific and technical services	25	23.7	26.3	13.1	23.5	27
Administrative and support services	34.2	34.5	31.2	17.5	24.2	26.8
Public administration and safety	13.2	12.9	13.3	8.6	13.4	16.7
Education and training	6.6	7.3	7.7	3.6	6.4	6.7
Health care and social assistance	27.4	28	29.8	19.7	28.4	37.7
Arts and recreation services	3.6	2.8	2	**0.1	1.2	4
Other services	9	11.4	9.4	*3.6	8.3	10.6

All figures are original

* estimate has a relative standard error of 25% to 50% and should be used with caution

** estimate has a relative standard error greater than 50% and is considered too unreliable for general use

Downloads

Time series spreadsheets

Data files

Table 1. Job vacancies, state and territories ('000)
Download xls [322 KB]
Table 2. Job vacancies, private sector, state and territories ('000)
Download xls [452 KB]
Table 3. Job vacancies, public sector, state and territories ('000)
Download xls [295 KB]
Table 4. Job vacancies, industry, Australia ('000) - original
Download xls [158 KB]
All time series
Download zip [282.3 KB]

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6354.0.

Methodology

Job Vacancies, Australia methodology, November 2020

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APA

Citation

Job Vacancies, Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Survey Impacts

Continued suspension of trend estimates

Survey responses remain high in November

Comparing job vacancies with other measures of labour demand

COVID-19 impacts on job vacancies

States and territories

Private sector, states and territories

Public sector, states and territories

Industry

Downloads

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

All time series

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

Provide feedback

APA

Job Vacancies, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Survey Impacts

Continued suspension of trend estimates

Survey responses remain high in November

Comparing job vacancies with other measures of labour demand

COVID-19 impacts on job vacancies

States and territories

Private sector, states and territories

Public sector, states and territories

Industry

Downloads

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

All time series

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Job vacancies surpass pre-COVID level

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder