Skilled vacancies slump further 11 per cent

Submitted 2/03/2009

AAP

 

Skilled job vacancies slumped a further 11 per cent per cent in February, new data shows.

The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations skilled vacancies index in February was 46.4 points, 52.4 per cent lower than in February 2008.

Vacancies fell in all three occupational groups monitored by the department.

Trade vacancies declined 12.4 per cent, associate professionals fell 7.5 per cent and professionals dropped 6.3 per cent.

The fall in skilled vacancies was widespread, with decreases also evident in 17 of the 18 professions monitored by DEEWR.

The largest fall was in printing trades, down 29.4 per cent.

The only occupation to rise was marketing and advertising professionals, increasing 0.4 per cent.

All states and territories experienced decreases in skilled vacancies in February, the largest drop being 14.8 per cent in Western Australia.

Similarly, all states and territories suffered declines in the year to February, led by NSW with a fall of 62.1 per cent.