Australian job vacancies fall by 1.9 pct q/q in the August quarter, bringing annual growth down to -1.9 pct

Australian job vacancies fell by 1.9 percent q/q in the August 2019 quarter, bringing annual growth down to -1.9 percent y/y, the first y/y decline since 2014. The decline was concentrated in private sector vacancies, as public sector vacancies continue to grow, ANZ Research reported.

Falling vacancies in the last six months represent a convergence with job ads and other leading indicator data, which have been soft for some time.

Weakness was concentrated in the major knowledge sectors. Professional services fell 12.6 percent q/q and 13.5 percent y/y (the weakest result since 2014) and education fell 7.1 percent q/q and 9.6 percent y/y (the sharpest annual decline in education vacancies in 5 years).

Continuing weakness in construction vacancies (-5.1 percent q/q after -18.7 percent q/q to May) and a sharp decline in health (-8.1 percent q/q) also contributed to the decline.

New South Wales vacancies fell, in annual terms, for the first time in five years (-7.5 percent y/y), while Victoria recorded its second consecutive annual fall (-9.2 percent y/y). All other states/territories experienced vacancy growth, except South Australia.

Meanwhile, falling vacancies in the last six months represents a convergence with job advertisement data, which have been weakening for some time. Weakness in both leading indicators is a strong signal that employment growth could slow in the near term. This is concerning because unemployment has been rising despite strong employment growth in recent months, the report further noted.