Australia job vacancies tumble from record levels in latest quarter

Workers cast shadows as they stroll in Sydney’s Barangaroo business district in Australia’s largest city, May 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File photo

SYDNEY  – Job vacancies in Australia slid from record levels in the three months to August, adding to signs that the country’s labor shortage might be easing as interest rate hikes work to constrain demand.

Vacancies fell by 8.9 percent from the previous quarter to 390,400, the biggest decline and the lowest level in two years, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed.

That was down 15 percent from a year ago, but still 71.5 percent higher than in February 2020.

Australia’s unemployment rate has also climbed, to 3.7 percent from a record low of 3.4 percent, data showed this month.

“While these indicators are no longer at historical levels, both are still showing that the labor market is tighter than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Kate Lamb, ABS head of labor statistics.

The percentage of businesses reporting at least one vacancy fell to 21.7 percent in August, the lowest since the quarter ending in November 2021.

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Analysts believe that demand for labor, which has been incredibly resilient, will slow given that the Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates by 400 basis points since May last year to an 11-year high of 4.1 percent.

The central bank has been on hold for three straight months as policymakers see a credible path of returning inflation back to 2-3 percent target without crashing the economy.

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Thursday’s data showed vacancies in the private sector fell 9.2 percent, while the public sector saw a drop of 6.3 percent.