Australia has a record number of job opportunities, BUT few sectors are having trouble filling jobs.

Due to a tightening labor market, job openings in Australia increased to all-time highs in the first quarter of the year.

According to fresh seasonally adjusted data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 480,000 job openings in Australia in May 2022, which is more than 58,000 more than in February 2022. (ABS).

The number of openings in May 2022 was more than twice as high as those in February 2020. (227,000).

The number of open positions increased by 14% over the three months ending in May 2022, to nearly half a million jobs, according to Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labor Statistics at the ABS.

This was a reflection of the persistent labor shortages and rising demand for workers, particularly in customer-facing positions, as firms continue to experience operational interruptions.

Australia’s hiring has exceeded all expectations in recent months, bringing the unemployment rate to 3.9 percent, which is the lowest it has been in nearly 50 years.

In terms of the states, Victoria saw the most increase in job openings, up 18% in the three months leading up to May 2022. Victoria was followed by New South Wales (12 per cent).

In all industries, there were more open positions than there were before the pandemic, but the rate of quarterly growth differed by sector.

Retail trade (38 percent), information, media, and telecommunications services (18 percent), and arts and leisure services saw the biggest growth in job openings during the quarter (16 percent ).