Jobs growth slows but remains positive in December quarter: ABS
The number of filled jobs rose by 0.4 per cent in the December quarter, marking slower jobs growth compared to previous quarters.
Vacancies rose in the December quarter for the first time since 2022 after eight consecutive quarterly falls.
“Job vacancies still account for around 2.1 per cent of total jobs in the labour market, which is still well above the pre-pandemic level, when it was around 1.6 per cent,” Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), said.
“This shows that, despite the growth we have seen in jobs, employment and hours over the past five years, employers are still more likely to be looking for people.”
The ABS also observed a sustained uptick in multiple job holders, which has remained at record highs since December 2022. A significant portion of multiple job holders have primary jobs in health care and social assistance.
“The number of people holding multiple jobs rose by 1.7 per cent to 1.0 million in the December quarter of 2024. This is the first time there have been over one million multiple job-holders in the Australian labour market,” Jarvis said.
However, growth in main and secondary jobs slowed in the December quarter. Main jobs growth slowed to 0.4 per cent, compared to 1.6 per cent the previous quarter, and secondary jobs grew by 1.2 per cent, compared to 4.1 per cent the quarter prior.
Women were more likely to be multiple job holders, with 7.6 per cent of employed women working multiple jobs, compared to 6 per cent of employed men.
On average, multiple job holders worked 39.6 hours a week, compared to 34.9 hours per week for single job holders.
Hours worked increased for 13 of the 19 industries in the December quarter, led by agriculture, forestry and fishing (3.1 per cent) and accommodation and food services (2.7 per cent). The latter rise coincided with an uptick in discretionary consumer spending in the quarter.
While jobs growth slowed slightly last quarter, the sustained tightness of the labour market has drawn caution from the RBA in cutting interest rates further. Given current conditions, economists predict that the RBA will not cut rates until its May meeting.
According to Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP, the RBA expressed caution regarding “the labour market remaining tight” and worried that “easing in line with market expectations would see underlying inflation settle above 2.5 per cent year on year.”
