While much of the world continues to struggle with employment - including heartbreaking job losses for minority women in the USA - Australia is seeing a job growth boom as the year begins. The number of vacancies being advertised in November 2020 was higher than 12 months earlier in each state except Victoria, which was hit the hardest by the pandemic in 2020. Despite that, even in Victoria job losses were only down 3% since November 2019, with signs that situation will be stabilizing in the near-term

The states of Western Australia, Tazmania, and Southern Australia have seen the most growth, at 46%, 42%, and 37% respectively.

All of this, of course, needs to be taken with a grain of salt. While the number of vacancies is surging, unemployment rates remain stubbornly high. As Greg Jericho makes pains to point out in The Guardian this week: "What this highlights is the how the struggle with the labour market is that workers are prevented from getting jobs. It’s all very well for there to be a job available, but it is not much good if it is in a place you are not able to travel to. Or if the available jobs are in an industry you can’t to work in (either because it does not suit or you are not qualified).

From May to November accommodation and food services jobs accounted for 13% of the increase in vacancies. Normally they account for just 6.5%. That’s great if you want such a job, but not so much if you don’t – especially given such work is generally lower paid and not full-time."

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