The latest ABS data revealed which industries and states are seeing the sharpest drops – and where demand for workers is still surging
Job vacancies dipped slightly over the three months to November 2025, as easing demand in the private sector weighed on the national tally, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Figures released today show total job vacancies fell by 0.2 per cent in the quarter, to 326,700 in November. ABS head of labour statistics Robert Long said vacancy numbers were now back around where they were at the start of the year.
“There were 326,700 job vacancies in November, around the same as there were at the beginning of the year, in February 2025,” Long said.
Over the year to November, total vacancies fell by 17,800 positions, a decline of 5.2 per cent.
The ABS said the annual drop in vacancies was driven by the private sector.
“Private sector job vacancies also drove the annual decrease, falling by 6.8 per cent in the year to November. Over the same time, public sector vacancies went up by 8.9 per cent,” Long explained.
The figures suggest employers are becoming more cautious in hiring, particularly in parts of the private economy, even as demand for workers in the public sector continues to grow.
Job vacancies declined in seven of the 18 industries surveyed over the quarter.
The steepest quarterly fall was in education and training, where vacancies dropped by 15.5 per cent. This was followed by the rental, hiring and real estate services industry, which recorded a 12.8 per cent fall in vacancies.
Not all sectors weakened. The largest percentage rise over the quarter was in other services, where vacancies jumped 19.0 per cent, followed by wholesale trade, up 13.6 per cent.
Looking over the year, vacancies were down in two–thirds of industries, with 12 of the 18 sectors recording annual declines. Arts and recreation services saw the sharpest fall, with vacancies down 27.7 per cent compared with November 2024.
The biggest annual increase was in manufacturing, where vacancies surged 33.1 per cent over the year.
The quarterly figures also show a mixed picture across the states and territories.
Job vacancies fell in five of the eight regions in the three months to November. The Northern Territory recorded the largest drop, with vacancies down 11.3 per cent over the quarter, followed by South Australia, where they declined 6.6 per cent.
Victoria posted the strongest quarterly rise, with vacancies up 7.0 per cent. Western Australia also saw solid growth, with vacancies increasing 6.5 per cent.
