Regional job vacancies remained steady at over 72,500 in February 2022 with a 0.1 per cent increase on January. The latest level of vacancies is 28 per cent more than a year earlier.
Similar to January, the top growth spots are scattered around Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.
While some regions recorded slight decreases in vacancies in January and February, advertised vacancies in all regions but one are well in excess of what was being advertised a year earlier. The annual growth in vacancies in the various regions are in the double digits, ranging from 15 per cent to 61 per cent. The only region showing a smaller number of vacancies in Feb 2022 (1,152) compared with Feb 2021 (1,271) is Dubbo and Western NSW, a 9 per cent decline.
The five regions recording the largest monthly increases in vacancies during February 2022 were in:
- Outback Queensland with 10.5% more vacancies in February 2022 (678) than in January 2022 (613)
- Pilbara and Kimberley in Western Australia up by 5.2% (2,307 compared to 2,193)
- Central Queensland up by 4.6% (3,369 compared to 3,222)
- Port Augusta and Eyre Peninsula in South Australiaup by 4.4% (509 compared to 487)
- Goldfields and Southern WA up by 3.5% (2,181 compared with 2,108)
The five regions with the biggest jumps in vacancies in February 2022 compared with February 2021:
- Geelong & Surf Coast up by 61%
- Ballarat and Central Highlands up by 46.9%
- Outback Queensland up by 41.5%
- Gosford and Central Coast up by 39.8%
- Sunshine Coast up by 39.1%
In terms of the occupations being demanded, vacancies are largest for professional roles (24%) of all vacancies in February, followed by Technicians and Trades roles (16%), and Clerical and Administrative roles (14 %).
