The number of filled jobs across Australia rose by 1.6 per cent to around 16 million in the September quarter. This is according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Filled jobs rose in 15 of the 19 industries in the September quarter compared to the June quarter, led by health care and social assistance (up 109,700) and Professional, scientific and technical services (up 30,600).
In retail, Australia’s second-largest employing industry, filled jobs rose by 18,600, to 1.77 million people. Annually - between September quarter 2024 and the same quarter in 2023 - filled jobs in retail lifted 4 per cent.
Healthcare leads the charge, with 2.69 million people in the September quarter, followed by professional, scientific and technical services at 1.36 million.
ABS head of labour statistics David Taylor said the overall lift in filled jobs - up by 257,100 - continues the growth seen since COVID-19 Delta variant measures eased in the December quarter of 2021.
“Since then, the number of filled jobs in the Australian labour market has grown by 1.5 million jobs or 10.7 per cent,” Taylor said.
Hours worked grew 0.8 per cent in the September quarter, however, it was only up 0.7 per cent compared to the June quarter of 2023 when the labour market was particularly tight.
“Between December quarter 2021 and June quarter 2023, we saw strong growth in hours worked of 10.3 per cent compared to filled jobs at 6.6 per cent,” Taylor said.
“Since June quarter 2023, quarterly hours worked has softened and we’re starting to see a more consistent relationship with other labour market measures like filled jobs and employment, as noted in recent Labour Force Survey data.
“Growth in filled jobs and hours worked since December quarter 2021 are now very similar, with filled jobs rising 10.7 per cent and hours worked up 11.0 per cent.”
Also in the last quarter, the multiple job-holding rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 per cent, reflecting a 2.8 per cent rise in the number of multiple job-holders (27,000) and a 1.1 per cent rise in employed people (161,000).
This returns the multiple job-holding rate to its average over the past two years.
“Job vacancies fell a further 17.8 per cent annually, but were still 48.3 per cent higher than before the pandemic,” Taylor said.
In retail, 103,800 people held a second job in the sector, with 1.44 million people having their main job in retail.
The quarterly rises across the 15 of the 19 sectors were partially offset by a fall in the remaining four industries, including administrative and support services (down 26,100).
Hours worked grew in 10 industries during the quarter and dropped in the remaining nine industries. Hours worked in retail lifted by 7.3 million hours to 492.2 million.
The largest quarterly percentage rise was seen in manufacturing (up 3.1 per cent), while the largest quarterly percentage fall was in Arts and recreation services (down 2.5 per cent).
“As we explored in the March quarter 2024 Labour Account release, essential services industries have been showing strong labour market growth, particularly over the past two years,” Taylor said.
“Recent growth in Health care and social assistance coincides with a period of record high labour force participation. This comes as more parents and carers seek childcare services, and demand increases from an ageing Australian population for both residential and home-based care services.”