Job vacancies dropped by 2.7 per cent in the three months to August 2025, according to new quarterly figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Robert Long, ABS head of labour statistics, said: '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.
'Private sector job vacancies drove this quarter's movement, falling by 3.4 per cent. Public sector vacancies went up by 2.2 per cent which was the fourth increase in a row.
'There were 5,000 fewer job vacancies, a drop of 1.5 per cent, over the year to 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 per cent.
'The number of unemployed people for each job vacancy rose from 1.9 to 2.0, comparing May 2025 to August 2025. This is the highest level seen since February 2021.'
| Job vacancies ('000) | |
|---|---|
| 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 | 232.5 |
| May-19 | 227.2 |
| Aug-19 | 221.8 |
| Nov-19 | 230.6 |
| Feb-20 | 227.4 |
| May-20 | 128.4 |
| Aug-20 | 203.3 |
| Nov-20 | 260.0 |
| Feb-21 | 287.8 |
| May-21 | 366.7 |
| Aug-21 | 329.2 |
| Nov-21 | 406.5 |
| Feb-22 | 422.9 |
| May-22 | 473.2 |
| Aug-22 | 466.6 |
| Nov-22 | 450.9 |
| Feb-23 | 439.5 |
| May-23 | 422.5 |
| Aug-23 | 399.5 |
| Nov-23 | 384.4 |
| Feb-24 | 360.9 |
| May-24 | 346.2 |
| Aug-24 | 332.2 |
| Nov-24 | 345.0 |
| Feb-25 | 327.2 |
| May-25 | 336.4 |
| Aug-25 | 327.2 |
The Job Vacancies Survey was suspended between August 2008 to August 2009 (inclusive).
Job vacancies dropped in 11 of the 18 industries in the three months to August 2025. The largest percentage falls were in Other services (-19.9 per cent) and Financial and insurance services (-15.0 per cent). The largest rises were in Retail trade (+13.5 per cent) and Wholesale trade (+10.7 per cent).
Compared with a year ago, job vacancies were down for nine industries. Other services, a diverse group not covered by other industries, had the largest fall, down by 33.0 per cent. Vacancies in this industry are now at their lowest level in five years.
Manufacturing had the biggest rise over the last year, up by 46.0 per cent. Despite its strong annual increase, Manufacturing was still 29.6 per cent lower than its peak in February 2022.
| Industry | Quarterly change (%) | Yearly change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 9.7 | 46.0 |
| Accommodation and food services | -1.0 | 19.0 |
| Administrative and support services | 3.9 | 7.8 |
| Education and training | 5.6 | 7.2 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | -1.4 | 5.8 |
| Information media and telecommunications | -11.1 | 3.1 |
| Mining | -13.8 | 2.9 |
| Public administration and safety | -3.5 | 1.5 |
| Retail trade | 13.5 | 0.0 |
| Wholesale trade | 10.7 | -2.3 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | -6.9 | -2.4 |
| Financial and insurance services | -15.0 | -5.2 |
| Health care and social assistance | 0.3 | -9.1 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -10.6 | -11.3 |
| Arts and recreation services | 3.7 | -13.4 |
| Construction | -12.7 | -22.4 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | -2.7 | -23.6 |
| Other services | -19.9 | -33.0 |
Job vacancies rose in five of the eight states and territories over the quarter to August 2025.
Northern Territory had the largest rise (+21.9 per cent), followed by Tasmania (+1.6 per cent).
Victoria had the biggest drop (-8.8 per cent), followed by the Australian Capital Territory (-6.4 per cent).
The ABS would like to thank businesses in Australia for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
