Factsheet: Labour market dynamics in Australia

Australia’s labour market continues to be historically tight in the middle of 2025, but there are signs of softening

Unemployment

Australia’s unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) increased to 4.5% in September 2025.

In September 2025, the seasonally adjusted underemployment rate was at 5.9%, it has remained within the 5.7%–6.0% range over the past six months. Over the past couple of years, it has decreased slightly and continues to stay at levels last seen in the mid-2000s.

Job vacancies

There were 340,500 vacant jobs in March 2025. While vacancies have declined over the last year, the level is double that prior to the pandemic. 2% of all jobs in Australia are currently vacant.

With 653,800 unemployed people in Australia, there are currently 1.9 unemployed people for each vacant job. Prior to the current labour market cycle, this ratio was around 4.0.

The industries with the highest job vacancy rates include mining (4.3%), accommodation (3.3%) and professional, scientific and technical (2.8%).

Job turnover

7.7% of the Australian workforce changed their employer in the year to February 2025, down 0.3% from the previous year. Job turnover was slightly lower for men (7.6%) than women (7.9%).

Accommodation and food services has the highest job turnover rate in Australia (15.5%), with above average rates for other services, retail trade, admin and support services and manufacturing. Job turnover was lower in real estate services, agriculture, forestry and fishing and wholesale trade.

Casual employment

The rate of casual employment was 21.0 % in August 2025. This rate remains below its long-term range of 23.5 to 25.5%.

Casual employment is most common in five industries: accommodation and food, retail trade, arts & recreation, administrative and support and agriculture. Industrial sectors like construction, manufacturing, mining, wholesale trade and utilities have below-average rates of casualisation.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism is defined as the share of employees who worked fewer hours than usual due to their own illness or injury, personal reasons including study and carer’s leave, bad weather and ‘other’ reasons.

This chart from ABS data shows the average proportion of the total workforce that was absent at any time during the month, from 2015- 24 (excluding the pandemic affected years from 2020-22).

Sources

The data in this factsheet are derived from various ABS labour surveys. Data is collected on a quarterly or annual basis, and is typically released two or three months following the reference period. Australian Industry Group Research & Economics will update this factsheet as new data is released. Refer to notes in the charts for links to the source data.

Australian Industry Group research and economics team

Website: Research and Economics Resource Centre

Email: economics@aigroup.com.au