The trend has been driven by a surge in construction and customer‑facing roles despite labour demand easing from its pandemic-era peak
Australia’s job market showed renewed strength in early 2026, with vacancies rising to their highest level in more than a year, led by strong demand in construction and customer-facing industries.
New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show total job vacancies reached 337,900 in February 2026 (seasonally adjusted), up 2.7% from November 2025 and the highest level since November 2024.
ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said the rise pointed to solid underlying demand for workers despite vacancies remaining well below pandemic-era peaks.
“There were 337,900 job vacancies in February 2026, the highest level since November 2024,” Crick said. “The growth was led by rises in the Construction industry as well as in customer-facing jobs like in Retail trade and Accommodation and food services.”
Over the year to February 2026, the number of vacancies increased by 12,100, a 3.7% rise.
While demand for labour remains elevated, vacancies are still 28.6 per cent lower than in May 2022, when the level of job vacancies peaked.
Construction leads industry gains
Job vacancies rose in 12 of the 18 industries surveyed in the three months to February.
The strongest growth came from the Construction industry, where vacancies jumped 19.3% over the quarter. Wholesale trade followed with a 14.2%v rise.
Customer-facing sectors also saw solid increases. Retail trade vacancies lifted to 30,700 in February from 27,800 in November, while Accommodation and food services vacancies rose to 40,600 from 38,200 over the same period.
Not all sectors shared in the gains. Information media and telecommunications recorded the largest percentage fall, with vacancies down 9.5% over the quarter. Arts and recreation services followed with a 5.9% drop.
Health care and social assistance, the single largest employer by vacancies, remained elevated but eased slightly, with vacancies slipping from 59,600 in November to 57,800 in February.
Northern Territory out in front
Job vacancies increased in seven of the eight states and territories in the three months to February 2026.
The Northern Territory posted the largest quarterly rise, with vacancies surging 23%. Tasmania recorded the next biggest increase, up 5.9%.
New South Wales (up 3.8%), Victoria (3.9%), Queensland (3%), Western Australia (4.3%) and the ACT (0.3%) also saw vacancies edge higher over the quarter.
South Australia was the only state or territory to record a decline, with vacancies falling 2.3%.
On an annual basis, every state and territory except South Australia recorded increases in vacancies compared with February 2025, with particularly strong year-on-year gains in Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT.
Private sector drives quarterly rise
The private sector continued to account for the bulk of job openings and drove most of the quarterly increase.
Seasonally adjusted private sector vacancies rose to 299,000 in February, up 3.2% from November and 3.6% higher than a year earlier.
Public sector vacancies edged down 0.7 per cent over the quarter to 39,000, but remain 4.7% higher than in February 2025, outpacing the private sector’s annual growth rate.
On a trend basis, overall vacancies were little changed over the year, highlighting that while conditions remain tight by historical standards, the extraordinary levels seen during the height of the labour shortages have eased.
