Job Vacancy Trends in Australia: May 2024Job Vacancy Trends in Australia: May 2024 Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates that the Australian labor market remains strong, despite a recent decline in job vacancies. In May 2024, there were approximately 352,700 vacancies, a 2.7% decrease from February and a 26% decline compared to the peak in May 2022. The decline in vacancies was observed across most states and territories, with South Australia and Western Australia experiencing the largest percentage decreases. However, the Northern Territory saw an increase of 15.2%. Private sector vacancies have decreased by 2.7% to 313,500, while public sector vacancies have fallen to 39,100, a decline of 2.5%. While overall vacancies have decreased, they remain well above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. Compared to February 2020, there are approximately 125,000 more vacancies. The decline in vacancies is attributed to several factors, including the weakening of demand in industries such as wholesale and manufacturing. However, certain industries have experienced growth in vacancies, such as professional, scientific and technical services. Notably, the strong demand for labor is now being driven by non-market sectors such as aged care, healthcare, and social assistance. These sectors accounted for 28% of total vacancies in May 2024, compared to 27% in May 2023 and 22% before the pandemic. Despite the decline in vacancies, the unemployment rate remains low at 4%, indicating a continued shortage of skilled workers. Bjorn Jarvis, head of employment statistics at ABS, emphasized that “the strength of the labor market is still very evident.”
Job vacancies data for May supports statements about the continued strength of the Australian labor market.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday shows there were 352,700 vacancies in May 2024, down 10,000 from February, a drop of 2.7%.
This followed a 6.2% fall in February 2024. The ABS said the peak of vacancies was in May 2022, and since then the number has fallen by 26%.
Private sector vacancies stood at 313,500, down 2.7% from February, while public sector vacancies fell 2.5% to 39,100.
Most states and territories saw a decline in vacancies. South Australia experienced the largest percentage decline (-17.3%), followed by Western Australia (-12.3%). The only increase was in the Northern Territory (15.2%).
In the year to May, the total number of vacancies fell by 17.7%. This compares with a 15.4% increase in the number of unemployed, to just under 599,000 (seasonally adjusted) in May.
At the same time, the number of employed people increased by 2.5%, or 354,000, in the same period. The unemployment rate was 4% in May, compared to 3.6% a year earlier.
But despite the apparent cooling in demand for labor and vacancies, the ABS pointed out that the strength of the labor market is still very evident and is now driven by demand for labor from non-market sectors such as aged care, healthcare and healthcare. social assistance (the NDIS).
Bjorn Jarvis, head of employment statistics at ABS, said vacancies in May were still well above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.
“There were still about 54.8 percent, or about 125,000, more vacancies than in February 2020,” he noted.
“The decline in vacancies was seen across many industries. The strongest quarterly percentage declines occurred in wholesale (-30.7 percent) and manufacturing (-29.8 percent).”
Only four industries saw vacancy growth during the quarter. The strongest percentage increases occurred in professional, scientific and technical services (15.9%) and in public administration and safety (15.3%).
He also noted that vacancies remained higher than pre-pandemic levels in 15 of 18 industries.
“This remained particularly pronounced in customer-facing sectors, including accommodation and food services, and arts and recreation services, where vacancies are still more than double what they were before the pandemic,” Mr Jarvis said.
The latest labor market data show that much of the recent growth in the number of jobs filled has taken place in three non-market sectors: health and social assistance, education and training, and public administration and security .
“This was also reflected in the latest job vacancies data, with the share of these three industries in total job vacancies growing from around 27 percent in May 2023 to 28 percent in May 2024. The share was also significantly higher than the 22 percent seen before the pandemic in February 2020.
“Health and social security now accounts for the largest share of total vacancies – around 18 per cent or almost one in five vacancies,” Mr Jarvis said.
