Job vacancies dropped by 0.2 per cent in the three months to November 2025, according to new quarterly figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This was led by a decrease in vacancies in the private sector.
Robert Long, ABS head of labour statistics, said: 'There were 326,700 job vacancies in November, around the same as there were at the beginning of the year, in February 2025.
'Over the twelve months to November 2025, there were 17,800 fewer job vacancies, a fall of 5.2 per cent.
'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.'
| Job vacancies ('000) | |
|---|---|
| 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 | 185.9 |
| 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 | 221.7 |
| Nov-19 | 230.6 |
| Feb-20 | 227.4 |
| May-20 | 128.4 |
| Aug-20 | 203.3 |
| Nov-20 | 260.1 |
| Feb-21 | 287.9 |
| May-21 | 366.7 |
| Aug-21 | 329.2 |
| Nov-21 | 406.5 |
| Feb-22 | 422.9 |
| May-22 | 473.2 |
| Aug-22 | 466.7 |
| Nov-22 | 450.7 |
| Feb-23 | 439.7 |
| May-23 | 422.6 |
| Aug-23 | 399.7 |
| Nov-23 | 383.9 |
| Feb-24 | 361.1 |
| May-24 | 346.3 |
| Aug-24 | 332.4 |
| Nov-24 | 344.5 |
| Feb-25 | 327.4 |
| May-25 | 336.4 |
| Aug-25 | 327.4 |
| Nov-25 | 326.7 |
The Job Vacancies Survey was suspended between August 2008 to August 2009 (inclusive).
Job vacancies fell in seven of the 18 industries in the three months to November 2025.
The largest fall was seen in the Education and training industry, down by 15.5 per cent. This was followed by the Rental, hiring and real estate services industry which fell by 12.8 per cent.
The largest percentage rise was in Other services, up by 19.0 per cent. This was followed by the Wholesale trade industry, which rose by 13.6 per cent.
Compared with a year ago, job vacancies were down for 12 industries. Arts and recreation services had the largest fall, down by 27.7 per cent.
The biggest rise over the last year was in Manufacturing, which was up by 33.1 per cent.
| Industry | Quarterly change (%) | Yearly change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | -8.6 | 33.1 |
| Wholesale trade | 13.6 | 13.9 |
| Public administration and safety | 9.1 | 13.1 |
| Administrative and support services | 4.8 | 4.6 |
| Accommodation and food services | 1.5 | 0.6 |
| Education and training | -15.5 | 0.0 |
| Mining | 7.9 | -3.8 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 4.8 | -4.3 |
| Health care and social assistance | 7.8 | -4.9 |
| Financial and insurance services | 2.4 | -6.1 |
| Retail trade | -3.1 | -8.9 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | -9.7 | -16.2 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | -2.0 | -18.2 |
| Construction | -7.2 | -18.6 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | -12.8 | -22.5 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 4.6 | -22.9 |
| Other services | 19.0 | -25.2 |
| Arts and recreation services | 7.3 | -27.7 |
Job vacancies fell in five of the eight states and territories over the quarter to November 2025.
The Northern Territory had the largest drop, down by 11.3 per cent in the three months. This was followed by South Australia which saw a drop of 6.6 per cent.
Victoria had the biggest rise, up by 7.0 per cent. This was followed by Western Australia, up by 6.5 per cent.
The ABS would like to thank businesses in Australia for their continued support in responding to our surveys.
