Job vacancies in Australia hit an all-time high in the May quarter as firms struggle to find employees amid a tight labor market. According to new seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), there were 480,000 job vacancies in Australia in May 2022, up from 58,000 in February 2022. The figures for May 2022 were more than double the vacancies in February 2020 (227,000).
Data shows that private sector vacancies stood at 439,100, an increase of 14.2% from February 2022. Public sector vacancies were 41,000, an increase of 9.4% from February 2022.
Björn Jarvis, head of labor statistics at ABS, said: “The number of job vacancies grew by 14% in the three months to May 2022 to reach nearly half a million jobs. This reflects the growing demand for workers, especially in customer-facing roles, with businesses facing disruptions in their operations, as well as ongoing labor shortages.”
recruited in Australia It has beaten all forecasts in recent months to bring the unemployment rate to the lowest in nearly 50 years at 3.9%.
“A quarter of businesses reported having at least one vacancy in May 2022. This rate was more than double the pre-pandemic level in February 2020 (11 percent), which highlights the extent to which businesses are finding it more difficult to find employees. ,” He added.
big increase in vacancies in australia Coincides with the decline in the number of unemployed people through the pandemic. “As a result, the number of unemployed people and vacant jobs was almost the same in May 2022 (1.1 unemployed people per vacant job), compared to three times the number of people before the start of the pandemic (3.1), Mr. Jarvis said.
Among the states, the largest increase in job vacancies was in Victoria, which grew 18% in the three months to May 2022, followed by New South Wales (12 percent).
While job vacancies were significantly higher in all industries than before the pandemic, the extent of quarterly growth varied between industries.
The industries with the highest growth in vacancies in the quarter were retail business (38%), information media and telecommunications services (18%) and arts and entertainment services (16%).
That was one reason why the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has raised interest rates by 0.85% twice since May, and is likely to hike 50 basis points at its July policy meeting next week.
Australia job vacancies, changes from February 2020 and February 2022
| Industry Division | % Change February 2022 to May 2022 | % Change February 2020 to May 2022 |
| Arts & Entertainment Services | 15.7 | 259.9 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 12.7 | 252.4 |
| Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 4.7 | 204 |
| Construction | 13.2 | 140 |
| Production | -5.5 | 136.1 |
| health care and social support | 14.4 | 131.5 |
| other services | 2.1 | 123.3 |
| retail business | 38.3 | 113.1 |
| Transport, mail and warehousing | 3 | 101.8 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 5.5 | 96.5 |
| Public Administration and Security | 12 | 81.7 |
| digging | 6.3 | 72.1 |
| Financial and Insurance Services | 11.4 | 69 |
| education and training | 9.3 | 63.7 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 1.8 | 63 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications | 18.1 | 57.4 |
| wholesale trade | -11.8 | 51.5 |
| Administrative and Support Services | -5.9 | 22.5 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
(with agency input)