Coronavirus: Fall in job vacancies largest on record

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a 43 per cent collapse in job vacancies from February.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a 43 per cent collapse in job vacancies from February. Picture: istock

The number of job vacancies collapsed by the most on record in May, with new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a 43 per cent collapse from February.

The steep decline in the quarterly survey was well beyond the previous largest fall of 27 per cent during the 1990s recession.

The job ads figures come as Qantas announced mass lay-offs on Thursday morning, as the closure of international borders and remaining restrictions on interstate travel has devastated the airline industry.

Listings for private sector roles fell 45 per cent, and by 29 per cent in the public sector, the seasonally adjusted figures showed.

There were falls across states and territories, but job ads in Victoria suffered the hardest hit, halving between February and May in raw terms.

Industries hardest hit by job losses due to the COVID-19 crisis also revealed the largest declines in ads.

Vacancies in the arts and recreation industry almost disappeared, down 95 per cent, while the rental, hiring and real estate sector reported a 68 per cent drop, and accommodation and food services a 66 per cent fall in ads.

More recent labour market figures suggest April may have been the worst for the labour market, with some evidence of a limited recovery since.

Job ads numbers from online classifieds company Seek, released this morning, show listings on their website as at the week to June 21 are now at close to 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels. While there are still far fewer job ads, the latest figures show a marked improvement from the depths of April, when the number of listings was only around a third of February levels.