Job vacancies increased by 2.7 per cent in the three months to February 2026, according to new quarterly figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: 'There were 337,900 job vacancies in February 2026, the highest level since November 2024.
'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.
'There were 12,100 more job vacancies over the twelve months to February 2026, a rise of 3.7 per cent.'
Job vacancies rose in 12 of the 18 industries in the three months to February 2026.
The largest percentage rise was seen in the Construction industry, up by 19.3 per cent. This was followed by Wholesale trade which grew by 14.2 per cent.
The largest percentage fall was in Information media and telecommunications, down by 9.5 per cent. This was followed by Arts and recreation services, which fell by 5.9 per cent.
Job vacancies rose in seven of the eight states and territories over the quarter to February 2026.
The Northern Territory had the largest increase, up by 23.0 per cent in the three months. This was followed by Tasmania which saw a rise of 5.9 per cent.
South Australia was the only state or territory to decline in vacancies, down by 2.3 per cent.
Job vacancies in the private sector increased in the three months to February 2026, up by 3.2 per cent. At the same time, the public sector dropped by 0.7 per cent. Over the year, however, growth in job vacancies in the public sector was still higher at 4.7 per cent compared with 3.6 per cent in the private sector.
The ABS would like to thank businesses in Australia for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
