- 259,000 jobs were advertised online in January
- 10,900 more jobs than in December
- Sales workers, admin staff, drivers and labourers in high demand
Australian businesses needed 1,500 more sales workers last month than they did in December.
The soaring demand for retail and sales staff in January was revealed in the latest analysis of online job adverts posted across the country.
In total 21,400 job adverts were for sales workers out of the 259,000 vacancies posted online.
There was also a large rise in the number of adverts for machinery operators and drivers, according to the Internet Vacancy Index.
An extra 1,300 machinery operator and driver roles were advertised taking the total to 22,100 for January.
The monthly report issued by the National Skills Commission shows job seekers which roles are in most demand nationally and in 37 employment regions.
Overall there was a 4.4% increase in the number of jobs advertised online from December 2021 – a rise of 10,900 more vacancies.
The report looks at eight broad job groups and monitors the change in online job ads posted each month.
Other roles that saw large demands in January include trades workers and admin staff.
“Job advertisements increased in seven of the eight broad occupational groups during January 2022,” the report said.
“The strongest increase over the month in percentage terms was observed for machinery operators and drivers, (up by 9.6% or 1,300 job advertisements), followed by sales workers (7.6% or 1,500 job advertisements) and managers (6.6% or 1,700 job advertisements)."
Major occupational groups
- Managers – 27,900 job ads (up 1,700 from December)
- Professionals – 70,900 (up 2,100)
- Technicians and trades workers – 35,200 (up 1,500)
- Community and personal service workers – 26,700 (down 540)
- Clerical and admin workers – 39,500 (up 1,800)
- Sales workers – 21,400 (up 1,500)
- Machinery operators and drivers – 14,700 (up 1,700)
- Labourers – 22,100 (up 700)
The vacancy report also reveals detailed occupations with more specific job roles in each of the eight groups.
The most in demand occupations were from the sales workers group.
Sales assistants and salespersons recorded the largest increase over the month - up by 1,000 job advertisements or 7.9%.
You can find out more about January’s vacancy report at lmip.gov.au
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