Job vacancies recovering
Job vacancies increased further in September, but Victoria remained in the doldrums with quarter of a million jobs now gone and job vacancies down 36 per cent from a year earlier.
The Premier has called for a 'ceasefire' for the remainder of the week as businesses agitate to be able to reopen.
The state's closure to business is risking a loss of investment and capital flight, with even Queensland having more skilled vacancies than Victoria now.
Total vacancies increased by +8,700 or +6.4 per cent in September at the national level.
The recovery thus continues, but total vacancies are still down by -19,900 from a year earlier, driven by Victoria (-16,300).
Vacancies have more than doubled since their April lows of 71,470, to 144,000 in September, and there have been solid gains in recruitment activity for technicians and trades over the past month.
While vacancies are down -36 per cent year-on-year in Victoria, states such as Western Australia and South Australia have benefited a good deal from the various stimulus packages, and vacancies are higher than at the same time last year.
Western Australia has seen the fastest recovery of all this year, powering ahead of the demand for iron ore.
Overall, a solid monthly figure, and to some extent Victoria's loss has been others' gain.
