Australia: February Job Vacancies Dip, Still High

Job vacancies fell by 4.5 per cent to 329,000 in February 2025, according to new figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: 'The drop in the number of job vacancies reversed the recent rise of 17,000 vacancies in the three months to November 2024. As a result, there was a similar number of vacancies to what there had been in August.'

Compared with February 2024, the number of job vacancies in February 2025 was down by 34,000, or 9.3 per cent.

'There were 146,000 fewer job vacancies in February 2025, which was 30.7 per cent lower than the series peak in May 2022,' Mr Crick said.

'However, despite the falls in job vacancies over the last two and a half years, the total number of vacancies was still 44.5 per cent higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

'The December quarter Labour Account continues to show strong demand for people, with vacancies still tracking at around 2.1 per cent of all jobs in Australia. This was unchanged from the previous quarter and was higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 1.6 per cent.'

The Job Vacancies Survey was suspended between August 2008 to August 2009 (inclusive).

The number of job vacancies fell in 11 of the 18 industries in the three months to February 2025. The biggest percentage falls were in Arts and recreation services (-31.3 per cent) and Professional, scientific and technical services (-17.0 per cent). The largest rises were in Manufacturing (+23.3 per cent) and Rental, hiring and real estate services (+7.3 per cent).

Compared with a year ago, job vacancies fell in 11 industries, with the largest drops in Construction (-33.8 per cent) and Education and training (-26.0 per cent). The strongest percentage growth in job vacancies over the year was in Rental, hiring and real estate services (+13.0 per cent).

Job vacancies in most industries remained higher than they were before the COVID-19 pandemic. Accommodation and food services, and Arts and recreation services both remained particularly high compared with their pre-pandemic levels.

Administrative and support services, Wholesale trade, and Financial and insurance services had fewer job vacancies than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The drop in job vacancies over the quarter to February 2025 reflected a fall in the private sector (-5.4 per cent), which was only partially offset by a rise in the public sector (+3.0 per cent).

Over the same time, job vacancies fell in all states and territories except for Western Australia (+3.9 per cent). The largest percentage drops were in Tasmania (-17.4 per cent) and the Australian Capital Territory (-16.8 per cent).

The ABS would like to thank businesses in Australia for their continued support in responding to our surveys.