Australia saw a 5.2% drop in job vacancies for the three months ending in August 2024, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The total number of vacancies fell to 329,900, marking the ninth consecutive quarterly decline, yet vacancy levels remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic figures.
Private sector job vacancies dropped by 4.9% to 294,100, while public sector vacancies saw a sharper decrease of 7.5%, falling to 35,800.
Despite the declines, job vacancies in August 2024 were still 45.1% higher than in February 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elevated levels of job vacancies reflect ongoing labour shortages across several industries in Australia. Although vacancies are steadily declining, the demand for workers remains strong in many sectors, sustaining higher-than-normal vacancy levels.