Job Vacancies in Australia Decrease by 5% in November 2022, Despite Continuing High Demand for Workers

Job vacancies in Australia decrease by 5% in Nov 2022 but are still 12% higher compared to Nov 2021,28% of businesses reported at least one vacancy

Main points:

1. The number of job vacancies in Australia decreased by 5% from August to November 2022, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
2. Despite this decrease, the number of job vacancies in November 2022 is still 12% higher than November 2021 and almost double what they were in February 2020.
3. The percentage of businesses reporting at least one vacancy increased in November 2022, with 28% of businesses reporting at least one vacancy, a slight increase from August 2022 and more than double what it was in February 2020.

According to new seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were 444,000 job vacancies in November 2022, down 5% (-23,000) from August 2022. Bjorn Jarvis, the head of labour statistics at the ABS, noted that this decline in job vacancies came after three months of continued decrease and was also an 8% decline from the peak in May.

Despite this decline, the number of job vacancies in November was 12% higher than November 2021 (398,000) and almost double what they were in February 2020 (228,000), prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the percentage of businesses reporting at least one vacancy increased again in November, with 28% of businesses reporting at least one vacancy, a slight increase from August 2022 (27%) and more than double what it was in February 2020 (11%).

The decline in job vacancies was driven by the private sector, which generally accounts for around nine in every 10 vacancies. Private sector vacancies fell by 6% from August to November 2022 while public sector vacancies increased by 6%. When compared with the pre-pandemic levels, both private and public sector vacancies were close to double what they were in February 2020 (up by 96% and 89% respectively).

“While the number of vacancies has begun to fall over the past six months, we are continuing to see a greater share of businesses reporting at least one vacancy,” said Mr. Jarvis. “These figures continue to show the high demand for workers across many businesses and all industries, in a tight labour market.”