Job vacancies in Australia: The most in demand occupations

jobs — A man reads job adverts in a newspaper at a cafe in Sydney, Australia, May 9, 2016. Reuters/David Gray

There are now more job vacancies in Australia, according to the latest Internet Vacancy Index (IVI). The figures, which have been released by Australia’s Department of Employment, revealed that job vacancies posted online rose by 1.2 percent to 170,900 last month.

The total number of vacancies now stands at the highest level since July 2012. It rose by 31,200 from October 2013. The government has assured that vacancies rose in all territories and states in May. The highest surge was recorded in Victoria with 1.4 percent. It was followed by Queensland (1.0 percent) and New South Wales (0.9 percent). South Australia recorded an increase of 0.9 percent.

In comparison to last year, some states and territories have seen a surge in the number of job vacancies. South Australia leads this growth by 14.9 percent. From last year, vacancy levels rose in six of the eight occupational groups. The strongest increases were seen for machinery operators and drivers with a 20.8 percent rise.It is followed by technicians and trades workers with an 8.5 rise and labourers with 6.9 percent. Meanwhile, job vacancies for sales workers (2.6 percent) and managers (1.1 percent) have dropped during the same time.

Job vacancies in Australia have climbed for a fourth straight quarter. The figures hit the highest since 2011.

In the private sector, job vacancies have surged by 1.3 percent to 170,100, again the highest increase since early 2011. It was up 5.9 percent on the May quarter of 2016.

Job vacancies in the public sector rose by 3.8 percent from the previous quarter to 18,900. It was the highest on record since 2009. The IVI did not specify whether the job vacancies are for full-time, part-time or casual staff.

The IVI is based on the number of online job advertisements recently lodged on Australian JobSearch, CareerOne and SEEK during a specific month. It “does not reflect the total number of job advertisements in the labour market as it does not include jobs advertised through other online job boards, employer websites, word of mouth, in newspapers, and advertisements in shop windows," the government stressed, according to Business Insider.

For analysts, the vacancy series should be valued as it reflects a leading indicator of labour demand and employment growth in the country. The rise in job vacancies tends to support official figures for employment that have displayed a marked lift up in jobs growth in the previous months.

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