ABS Reports Show Job Vacancy Reductions Across 11 Industries in August
There were 330,000 job vacancies in Australia in August 2024, a decrease of 18,000 from May.
Out of the 18 industries analyzed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), eleven saw a decrease in job vacancies in August, according to the latest report.
The largest percentage drops were in accommodation and food services (-17.2 percent) and manufacturing (-9.9 percent).
The food sector did not see improvement due to factors such as poor weather conditions and diseases affecting crop yields, impacting items like strawberries, grapes, broccoli, and cucumbers, as revealed in the ABS inflation data released a day prior.
Conversely, job vacancies saw the strongest quarterly percentage increases in sectors like transport, postal, and warehousing (14.9 percent) and arts and recreation services (7.1 percent).
Despite this growth, job vacancies in both sectors were still lower than a year ago, as highlighted in the ABS inflation data.
Overall, job vacancies in Australia totaled 330,000 in August 2024, a drop of 18,000 from May.
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David Taylor, ABS Head of Labour Statistics, mentioned that job vacancies decreased by 5.2 percent in August 2024, continuing a downward trend from May 2024.
In a keynote address on Sept. 11, Sarah Hunter, Assistant Governor (Economic) at the Reserve Bank of Australia, stated that the labor market was above full employment and moving toward better balance since late 2022.
She also noted that while job vacancies were declining, a sharp rise in unemployment was not necessarily imminent due to the equilibrium between job openings and the unemployed.
Taylor explained that despite a two-year decrease in job vacancies, they still remained 45.1 percent higher, with 102,000 more vacancies than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Taylor added that annual declines in job vacancies were observed in all industries except for rental, hiring, and real estate services, which saw a minor increase compared to August 2023.
The report revealed that job vacancies surpassed pre-pandemic levels in all industries except for administrative and support services, financial and insurance services, wholesale trade, and information media and telecommunications.
Notably, vacancies were more than double pre-pandemic levels in arts and recreation services and accommodation and food services.
