Job vacancies suffered a record drop in the three months to May as the pandemic starts to bite.Credit:Louise Kennerley
The 43 per cent fall in vacancies easily eclipsed the previous record drop,of 27 per cent,recorded in the three months to November 1990 during that period's recession.
Particular industries are bearing the brunt of job losses. The manufacturing sector shed 68,300 jobs over the period,taking the number of workers to 852,800,its lowest level in records going back to 1984.
The bureau's head of labour statistics,Bjorn Jarvis,said three industries had suffered the biggest falls in vacancies during the period,which coincided with coronavirus pandemic lockdowns.
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Across the arts and recreation services sector,vacancies collapsed by an unparalleled 95 per cent and employment fell to its lowest level since 2004. Vacancies fell by 68 per cent across the rental and real estate sector and by 66 per cent for accommodation and food services.
Employment increased 24 per cent in the electricity,gas,water and waste services sector,but there was not an increase in hours worked. The ABS attributed this to a change in working arrangements.
Agriculture,forestry and fishing employment increased 9 per cent,and there were increases in the financial and insurance sector (4 per cent) and public administration and safety industry (3 per cent).