Job vacancies fell in May by 2.8 percent from February to 164,600 in the latest ABS data, with public sector vacancies collapsing 12.3 percent over the same period.
Job vacancy data according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics Job Vacancies, Australia, May 2010 shows a fall of 4,700 vacancies over the period, with job vacancies in the private sector was falling from 152,200 in February to 149,600 in May, a decrease of 1.7 percent. Public sector job vacancies crashed from 17,100 to 15,000 over the same period, a fall of some 12.3 percent.
The fall in ABS job vacancy data is less scary than private sector data, with data from IPA Recruitment showing a 17.7 percent drop in vacancies since March, falling 13.7 percent in May, following a 4 percent drop in April in IPA’s monthly data series.
Rabieh Krayem, CEO of IPA, said employers were showing increased nervousness about their prospects, despite a low unemployment rate.
“Lately, I’m coming across more pessimists than optimists among employers. They have been spooked by a stream of bad news including the European sovereign debt crisis, the volatility on the local stock exchange, and the steady rise in interest rates.”
The vocal campaign by the mining industry against the proposed resource super profits tax has further unsettled the broader employment market said Krayem.
“The mining tax issue is probably having more impact on the jobs market outside of the mining industry than inside it. Mining companies are continuing to take on people and the Queensland market has reflected this over the past month. The debate appears to have caused a sense of trepidation in other sectors, translating to employers taking more cautious steps in recruitment,” she said.
