Job vacancies rose by 2.9 per cent to 339,400 in May 2025, according to new quarterly figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: 'The rise in the level of job vacancies in the three months to May followed a fall in the three months to February 2025.
'The rise in job vacancies was driven by industries with a high proportion of skilled workers, including Professional, scientific and technical services, and Construction.
'Compared with May 2024, the number of job vacancies in May 2025 was down by 9,600, or 2.8 per cent. This was the smallest annual fall in job vacancies in the last two years.
'Over the year, the number of unemployed people for each job vacancy grew from 1.7 to 1.8. This is well below the pre-pandemic level of 3.1 in February 2020, indicating there is still high labour demand.'
| Job vacancies ('000) | |
|---|---|
| May-81 | 44.0 |
| Aug-81 | 44.5 |
| Nov-81 | 41.7 |
| Feb-82 | 37.3 |
| May-82 | 30.3 |
| Aug-82 | 26.8 |
| Nov-82 | 30.3 |
| Feb-83 | 29.7 |
| May-83 | 32.4 |
| Aug-83 | 33.6 |
| Nov-83 | 36.3 |
| Feb-84 | 44.6 |
| May-84 | 40.3 |
| Aug-84 | 48.5 |
| Nov-84 | 49.8 |
| Feb-85 | 60.4 |
| May-85 | 68.6 |
| Aug-85 | 67.2 |
| Nov-85 | 66.2 |
| Feb-86 | 64.8 |
| May-86 | 66.1 |
| Aug-86 | 61.1 |
| Nov-86 | 66.3 |
| Feb-87 | 69.5 |
| May-87 | 66.9 |
| Aug-87 | 70.1 |
| Nov-87 | 66.9 |
| Feb-88 | 70.2 |
| May-88 | 74.4 |
| Aug-88 | 80.8 |
| Nov-88 | 85.1 |
| Feb-89 | 84.7 |
| May-89 | 93.7 |
| Aug-89 | 76.6 |
| Nov-89 | 79.2 |
| Feb-90 | 71.9 |
| May-90 | 64.0 |
| Aug-90 | 56.7 |
| Nov-90 | 41.6 |
| Feb-91 | 33.8 |
| May-91 | 31.6 |
| Aug-91 | 29.8 |
| Nov-91 | 30.9 |
| Feb-92 | 33.3 |
| May-92 | 31.9 |
| Aug-92 | 33.0 |
| Nov-92 | 36.9 |
| Feb-93 | 37.0 |
| May-93 | 42.0 |
| Aug-93 | 46.2 |
| Nov-93 | 48.5 |
| Feb-94 | 57.6 |
| May-94 | 69.5 |
| Aug-94 | 82.2 |
| Nov-94 | 85.6 |
| Feb-95 | 72.7 |
| May-95 | 77.3 |
| Aug-95 | 74.6 |
| Nov-95 | 72.5 |
| Feb-96 | 81.0 |
| May-96 | 76.7 |
| Aug-96 | 77.5 |
| Nov-96 | 82.5 |
| Feb-97 | 81.3 |
| May-97 | 82.8 |
| Aug-97 | 84.9 |
| Nov-97 | 90.4 |
| Feb-98 | 98.3 |
| May-98 | 104.0 |
| Aug-98 | 89.8 |
| Nov-98 | 102.0 |
| Feb-99 | 87.2 |
| May-99 | 100.2 |
| Aug-99 | 106.9 |
| Nov-99 | 109.6 |
| Feb-00 | 118.1 |
| May-00 | 115.9 |
| Aug-00 | 114.4 |
| Nov-00 | 114.8 |
| Feb-01 | 99.7 |
| May-01 | 94.0 |
| Aug-01 | 90.2 |
| Nov-01 | 88.5 |
| Feb-02 | 90.5 |
| May-02 | 96.2 |
| Aug-02 | 103.0 |
| Nov-02 | 97.6 |
| Feb-03 | 109.7 |
| May-03 | 104.6 |
| Aug-03 | 104.1 |
| Nov-03 | 107.5 |
| Feb-04 | 103.8 |
| May-04 | 127.1 |
| Aug-04 | 124.6 |
| Nov-04 | 139.2 |
| Feb-05 | 146.2 |
| May-05 | 140.9 |
| Aug-05 | 139.0 |
| Nov-05 | 134.1 |
| Feb-06 | 144.3 |
| May-06 | 154.1 |
| Aug-06 | 154.9 |
| Nov-06 | 162.1 |
| Feb-07 | 160.8 |
| May-07 | 168.6 |
| Aug-07 | 173.3 |
| Nov-07 | 183.3 |
| Feb-08 | 178.2 |
| May-08 | 184.5 |
| Aug-08 | na |
| Nov-08 | na |
| Feb-09 | na |
| May-09 | na |
| Aug-09 | na |
| Nov-09 | 148.9 |
| Feb-10 | 168.4 |
| May-10 | 170.3 |
| Aug-10 | 178.6 |
| Nov-10 | 191.1 |
| Feb-11 | 189.4 |
| May-11 | 187.3 |
| Aug-11 | 183.4 |
| Nov-11 | 179.3 |
| Feb-12 | 181.8 |
| May-12 | 178.1 |
| Aug-12 | 175.3 |
| Nov-12 | 164.8 |
| Feb-13 | 149.8 |
| May-13 | 143.5 |
| Aug-13 | 140.6 |
| Nov-13 | 138.9 |
| Feb-14 | 143.2 |
| May-14 | 147.4 |
| Aug-14 | 146.6 |
| Nov-14 | 149.7 |
| Feb-15 | 151.9 |
| May-15 | 157.8 |
| Aug-15 | 161.5 |
| Nov-15 | 167.4 |
| Feb-16 | 172.2 |
| May-16 | 171.3 |
| Aug-16 | 177.1 |
| Nov-16 | 182.4 |
| Feb-17 | 185.1 |
| May-17 | 185.8 |
| Aug-17 | 200.1 |
| Nov-17 | 205.1 |
| Feb-18 | 213.1 |
| May-18 | 223.5 |
| Aug-18 | 227.1 |
| Nov-18 | 232.4 |
| Feb-19 | 232.6 |
| May-19 | 227.2 |
| Aug-19 | 221.7 |
| Nov-19 | 230.6 |
| Feb-20 | 227.5 |
| May-20 | 128.5 |
| Aug-20 | 202.9 |
| Nov-20 | 260.1 |
| Feb-21 | 288.2 |
| May-21 | 367.2 |
| Aug-21 | 328.0 |
| Nov-21 | 406.6 |
| Feb-22 | 423.9 |
| May-22 | 474.7 |
| Aug-22 | 463.3 |
| Nov-22 | 451.1 |
| Feb-23 | 441.3 |
| May-23 | 424.9 |
| Aug-23 | 395.1 |
| Nov-23 | 384.3 |
| Feb-24 | 363.2 |
| May-24 | 349.0 |
| Aug-24 | 327.3 |
| Nov-24 | 344.8 |
| Feb-25 | 329.9 |
| May-25 | 339.4 |
The Job Vacancies Survey was suspended between August 2008 to August 2009 (inclusive).
The number of job vacancies rose in eight of the 18 industries in the three months to May 2025. The largest percentage rises were in Construction (+20.6 per cent) and Professional, scientific and technical services (+12.6 per cent). The largest falls were in Wholesale trade (-13.3 per cent) and Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-12.6 per cent).
Compared with a year ago, job vacancies fell in 10 industries, with the largest drops in Electricity, gas, water and waste services (-24.3 per cent) and Other services (-13.2 per cent). The highest percentage growth in job vacancies over the year was in Transport, postal and warehousing (+23.3 per cent) and Manufacturing (+20.0 per cent).
| Industry | Quarterly change (%) | Yearly change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Transport, postal and warehousing | -4.6 | 23.3 |
| Manufacturing | 7.8 | 20.0 |
| Mining | -3.0 | 17.6 |
| Financial and insurance services | 4.7 | 12.9 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 6.0 | 12.6 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | -11.0 | 2.2 |
| Administrative and support services | 3.6 | 1.1 |
| Public administration and safety | 8.1 | 0.5 |
| Education and training | 5.7 | -0.4 |
| Accommodation and food services | -1.5 | -0.5 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 12.6 | -4.3 |
| Wholesale trade | -13.3 | -6.0 |
| Construction | 20.6 | -10.5 |
| Arts and recreation services | -5.5 | -10.6 |
| Health care and social assistance | -6.6 | -10.8 |
| Retail trade | -1.0 | -10.9 |
| Other services | -12.0 | -13.2 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | -12.6 | -24.3 |
The growth in job vacancies over the quarter to May 2025 was driven by rises in both the private (+3.2 per cent) and public sectors (+0.6 per cent).
Job vacancies rose in most states and territories over the quarter to May 2025. The largest percentage rises were in the Australian Capital Territory (+11.6 per cent) and South Australia (+9.0 per cent). The largest percentage drops were in the Northern Territory (-12.2 per cent) and Western Australia (-6.3 per cent).
The ABS would like to thank businesses in Australia for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
