Job vacancies, postings down as employers find it easier to fill jobs
Job vacancies in Australia fell by 2.7% in the three months to August 2025, with the private sector driving the decrease.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show there were 327,200 job vacancies in August, similar to six months ago.
"Although job vacancies rose in the three months to May, they fell again in the three months to August," said Robert Long, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.
"Private sector job vacancies drove this quarter's movement, falling by 3.4%. Public sector vacancies rose by 2.2%, which was the fourth increase in a row."
Annually, job vacancies also declined by 1.5%, or approximately 5,000 fewer than in August 2025.
"This is a much smaller decrease than the same time last year, when there was a drop of 67,300 vacancies, or 16.9%," Long said.
The drop in job vacancies comes as online job ads fell 4.2% in August, according to Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).
In a separate report, the JSA also found that employers are also finding it easier to fill jobs, with the national vacancy rate hitting 70.6% in the June quarter.
Job vacancies by industry, location
Meanwhile, 11 out of 18 industries in Australia recorded a drop in job vacancies in the three months to August, according to the ABS.
Other services, a diverse group not covered by other industries, logged the biggest decrease with 19.9%. This was followed by Financial and Insurance Services (-15%).
The biggest increases in job vacancies were recorded in Retail Trade (13.5%) and Wholesale Trade (10.7%), according to the ABS.
Annually, Manufacturing had the biggest increase in vacancies over the last year with 46%.
Other services had the biggest fall with 33%, the ABS said, noting that vacancies in the industry are now at their lowest level in five years.
In terms of location, five out of eight states and territories in Australia logged an increase in job vacancies.
The Northern Territory saw the biggest quarterly increase with 21.9%, while Victoria had the largest drop of -8.8%.
