Job vacancies hit 13-year high, with unskilled positions tightest

Thursday 23 December 2021

National skilled job vacancies rose 0.6% in November to a 13-year high 252,312 positions, according to the National Skills Commission (chart from CommSec):

Job vacancies are also up 46.8% (or 80,458 job ads) year-on-year and are 50.1% above pre-COVID levels.

The data shows that the biggest increase in demand was for unskilled workers, including kitchen staff, cleaners and factory process workers. This is despite claims by employers’ groups that there is a shortage of skilled workers. From The Brisbane Times:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.