Jobs and Skills Atlas Dashboard

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Internet Vacancy Index

The Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) is an indicator for labour demand, counting job advertisements newly lodged on the SEEK, CareerOne and Australian JobSearch online jobs boards during the reference month. However there are some important conceptual limitations that must be considered when interpreting the data. The IVI does not:

• reflect the total number of job advertisements in the Australian labour market
• account for jobs advertised through other online job boards, employer websites, social media, newspapers, or other informal methods such as word-of-mouth
• take account of multiple positions being advertised in a single job advertisement

Job vacancies and job advertisements are different. Some employment opportunities are not advertised by employers, who may instead fill their vacancies via internal promotion or alternative recruitment methods.

Online job advertisements can be slightly biased towards higher skilled positions. Employers with lower skilled vacancies tend to use informal recruitment methods like social media or word-of-mouth more regularly.

IVI data, particularly disaggregated by occupation or region, can exhibit considerable volatility on a month-to-month basis, and are also prone to significant seasonal patterns. Accordingly, JSA have used a 3 month average for IVI data aggregated to SA4, while a 6 month IVI average was used for SA4 and occupation.

Please note that IVI data presented at the SA4 level are an experimental series that have been created by corresponding data from the 37 IVI regions across to the 88 ABS SA4s. Accordingly, these estimates a subject to a degree of estimation error.

Unless specifically indicated, all data points, calculated metrics, and percentages, are determined using unrounded values with rounding applied before display.

Labour Force Survey

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) statistics are based on a multi¬stage area sample of approximately 24,000 private dwellings, discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and non¬private dwellings (including hotels, hospitals and retirement villages) resulting in a total sample of about 50,000 people. Estimates of subdivisions within this group are often based on small sample counts and can be quite volatile. Small estimates should be used with caution.

While the LFS includes regional data in its output, it is designed primarily to produce statistics at the state/territory level and higher. Accordingly, the regional data in the LFS have relatively small sample sizes, and the sample is not designed to produce estimates of a consistent quality for all regions. The regional LFS figures can, therefore, be subject to considerable sampling and other statistical variability, the degree to which can vary by region.

The LFS statistics are based on the place of usual residence of the people being surveyed, and this may not be the same location as someone’s place of work, particularly for SA4s in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Other than employed people, the overall unemployment rate and the participation rate for the Australian Capital Territory (for which monthly, seasonally adjusted data are available), it is worth bearing in mind that for SA4s:

• While the figures presented in the Jobs and Skills Atlas have been averaged over 6 months, or 12 months for SA4 figures disaggregated by age (e.g., youth unemployment rates (15-24); 25-54 year old participation rates) or sex, to help reduce the inherent volatility in the original data, some estimates will still be subject to considerable statistical variability and should be viewed with significant caution. This is particularly the case for SA4 figures by sex and age groups, which due to statistical variability may not reflect actual labour market conditions for those sex or age groups in the SA4.
• The figures are not adjusted for seasonal variations. Given this, it is preferable to make year-on-year comparisons, within the same time series, as movements between different months of the year may be influenced by seasonal factors.
• Youth unemployment rates at the SA4 level are generally based on very small sample sizes and, as a result, are subject to very high levels of volatility. Given this, youth unemployment rates (and their movements) at the SA4 level may not reflect actual up-to-date youth labour market conditions in the SA4 and should be interpreted with a high degree of caution.

It is also important to note that data averaged over 3, 6 or 12 months does not accurately or quickly detect turning points in the regional data during periods of significant change (such as during COVID-19 related lockdowns).

The ABS provides substantial guidance on the data from the LFS more generally, and on using regional estimates from the LFS. JSA recommends that users of these data familiarise themselves with the advice, linked below.

Labour Force Australia, Detailed | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au)

ABS Advice on Using Regional LFS Data

The Jobs and Skills Atlas also contains state/territory and national labour market indicators from the LFS. These figures are seasonally adjusted (except for the employment to population ratio for persons aged 15-64 by state/territory, which are three-month averages of original, monthly estimates and youth unemployment rate which are twelve-month averages of original estimates) and are sourced from the ABS Labour Force, Australia publication. More information on this release, including explanatory material can be found at: Labour Force, Australia | Australian Bureau of Statistics (abs.gov.au).

Unless specifically indicated, all data points, calculated metrics, and percentages, are determined using unrounded values with rounding applied before display.

Breakdown of Sex
Data values for sex are derived from Labour Force, Australia published by the ABS.

The ABS has committed to implementing the Standard for Sex, Gender, Variations of Sex Characteristics and Sexual Orientation Variables, 2020 in the future.

Breakdown of Age
Figures are shown for the age groups 15-24 (the same age group as the youth unemployment rate figure), 25-54, 55 and over, except for employment to population ratio. Employment to population ratio age breakdowns are calculated for the age groups 15-24, 25-54, 55-64.

Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation

The Nowcast of Employment by Region and Occupation (NERO) series provides monthly estimates of occupational employment by region that was previously only readily available every five years from the ABS Census of Population and Housing. As an experimental series, the NERO estimates have been smoothed to provide an indication of long-term trends in local labour markets. The JSA encourages users to utilise a combination of data sources alongside NERO (such as the JSA Internet Vacancy Index, Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, ABS Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages and ABS Labour Force Survey) to analyse current labour market trends. Please see NERO Dashboard for more caveat information.

The JSA encourages users to utilise a combination of data sources alongside NERO (such as the JSA Internet Vacancy Index, Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, ABS Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages and ABS Labour Force Survey) to analyse current labour market trends. Please see NERO Dashboard for more caveat information.

NERO data is based on the 15th of each month.

Comparing IVI data (vacancies) and NERO data (employment)

IVI data occupation vacancies are based on 'place of work', while NERO data for employment is based on 'place of usual residence'. Therefore, misalignments occur, causing data at the SA4 level to not accurately reflect vacancies by residency. This effect is particularly relevant in the case of Capital Cities.

Accordingly, vacancies and employment by occupation are not strictly comparable.

Skills Priority List

Released annually, the Skills Priority List (SPL) identifies occupations in Australia that are in shortage, while also providing an assessment of future demand through labour market rating. The ratings are:

• Shortage (S) - Shortages exist when employers are unable to fill or have considerable difficulty filling vacancies for an occupation, or significant specialised skill needs within that occupation, at current levels of remuneration and conditions of employment, and in reasonably accessible locations. In some instances, shortages may be apparent in particular specialisations within the occupation, but otherwise shortages are not apparent. In these instances, provided there is sufficient evidence, the occupation will still be considered in shortage
• Regional Shortage (R) - Shortages (as defined above) are restricted to regional areas.
• No Shortage (NS) - Research has not identified any significant difficulty filling vacancies. For some occupations, a lack of evidence overall will, by default, result in an occupation being rated as ‘No Shortage’.

Where there is evidence suggesting variation between metropolitan and regional locations this is reflected in the rating. The term metropolitan area refers to state and territory capital cities and regional refers to the rest of the state or territory. An occupation may be assessed as being in shortage even though not all specialisations are in shortage. Similarly, a rating of national shortage does not mean that employers in every geographical location have difficulty recruiting. While an occupation can be considered in shortage, it is still possible that job seekers can face significant competition for positions (due to the level of experience or specialisations required). Similarly, employers can still have difficulty recruiting for occupations that are not in shortage.

Unless specifically indicated, all data points, calculated metrics, and percentages, are determined using unrounded values with rounding applied before display.