Latest data available, updated 20 February 2025
Australia’s labour market remains historically tight at the start of 2024, but there are signs of softening
Unemployment: The unemployment rate increased to 4.1% (seasonally adjusted) in January 2025.
In January 2025, the seasonally adjusted underemployment rate held steady at 6.0%, unchanged from December 2024. Over the past couple of years, it has decreased slightly and continues to stay at levels last seen since in the mid-2000s.
There were 337,700 vacant jobs in September 2024. While vacancies have declined over the last year, the level is double that prior to the pandemic. 2.1% of all jobs in Australia are currently vacant.
With 604,000 unemployed people in Australia, there are currently 1.8 unemployed people for each vacant job. Prior to the current labour market cycle, this ratio was around 4.0.
The industries with the highest job vacancy rates include mining (3.5%), utilities (3.1%) and professional, scientific and technical (2.9%).
8.0% of the Australian workforce changed their employer in the year to February 2024, down 1.5% from the previous year (the highest job turnover rate since 2012). Job turnover was slightly lower for men (7.9%) than women (8.2%).
Accommodation and food services has the highest job turnover rate in Australia (15.7%), with above average rates for info and telecoms, mining, administration, retail trade and construction. Job turnover was lower in agriculture, forestry and fishing, education and financial services.
The rate of casual employment was 22.2 % in November 2024. This rate has ranged from 22.1 – 22.5% since 2023 and remains below its long-term range of 23.5 to 25.5%.
Casual employment is most common in five industries: accommodation and food, retail trade, arts and recreation, administrative and support and agriculture. Industrial sectors like construction, manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade and utilities have below-average rates of casualisation.
Absenteeism is defined as the share of employees who worked fewer hours than usual due to their own illness or injury, personal reasons including study and carer’s leave, bad weather and ‘other’ reasons.
This chart from ABS data shows the average proportion of the total workforce that was absent at any time during the month, from 2015- 24 (excluding the pandemic affected years from 2020-22).
The data in this factsheet are derived from various ABS labour surveys. Data is collected on a quarterly or annual basis, and is typically released two or three months following the reference period. Ai Group Research & Economics will update this factsheet as new data is released. Refer to notes in the charts for links to the source data.
Ai Group Research & Economics Team
Website: Research and Economics Resource Centre
Email: economics@aigroup.com.au
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