SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian job vacancies fell for the ninth straight quarter in the three months to the end of August and the decline spread across many industries as demand for labor eased.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released on Thursday showed that job vacancies fell by 5.2% from the previous three months, when they fell by 3.5%.
Job openings were down 17.1% from a year ago when they adjusted for 329,900 jobs, the lowest level since August 2021, but still 45% higher than just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Vacancies in the private sector fell by 4.9%, while in the public sector they fell by 7.5%.
Vacancies decreased in 11 of 18 industries, with the largest percentages falling in housing and food services, as well as manufacturing.
The decline left job vacancies 30% below their peak, and workers per opening rose to 1.9 from 1.7, although that remains below pre-pandemic levels of 3:1.
Some of this is due to the rapid closing of vacancies as official figures showed that employment increased by 143,000 in the three months to August.
Labor supply has also been boosted by an influx of skilled migrants and foreign students, helping to ease what has been a very tight labor market.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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