Australian employers embarked on a hiring spree over the three months to November as businesses in sectors hardest hit in the Covid recession scrambled to replace workers they let go through the pandemic .
And that's good for our economy and propertyJob vacancies surged at the end of last year and are now 11.9% above pre-pandemic levels!
New research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals total job vacancies have increased 23.4% in three months, and a staggering 97% in six months.
The number of available positions rose from 206,000 in August 2020 to 254,400 in November 2020. The figure includes private and public sector vacancies.
Job vacancies bottomed out at 129,000 in May 2020.
Vacancies are now above pre-pandemic levels in all states bar Victoria.
The Victorian result is surprising (on the upside) given the state was only starting to emerge from lockdown around the time of the survey.
By industry, vacancies are above pre-covid levels in almost all industries (administrative and support services the biggest outlier).
These results are very encouraging
The sharp rebound in job vacancies over the past few quarters illustrates the rapid return of labour demand after the easing of restrictions and effective control of the virus, as well as most likely interstate and international border restrictions impacting the ability to fill positions in certain industries.
NAB Economists suggest that a historical correlation of job vacancies and the unemployment rate suggests the risk is the unemployment rate falls more sharply than forecast, even with the ongoing tapering of government support such as JobKeeper and JobSeeker.
The trends do align with anecdotal reports that the JobSeeker payment may be encouraging some not to enter the labour market, though the participation rate has rebounded above pre-covid levels to be the equal highest on record.
