Australia's job market

Online job ads and the labour force across Australia, from the latest official releases. Data to September 2026.

Online job ads, September 2026

211,500

up 1.5% on a year earlier Steady

Unemployment rate, September 2026

4.7%

up 0.3 points on a year earlier Rising

Employed people, September 2026

14,782,700

up 1.2% on a year earlier

Job ads seasonally adjusted. Labour force seasonally adjusted.

In plain English

In September 2026 there were 211,500 new online job ads in Australia, seasonally adjusted.
Compared with September 2025, ads were up 1.5%, so by our rule they are steady over the year.
Over the month, ads held steady (up less than 0.1% on August 2026).
Compared with the 2019 monthly average of 171,600, ads were up 23.2%.
The unemployment rate was 4.7% in September 2026 (seasonally adjusted), up 0.1 points on August 2026 and up 0.3 points on a year earlier: rising by our rule.
Employment grew over the year (up 1.2%), to 14,782,700 people. The participation rate was 66.8%.
Professionals had the most ads (60,900, 28.8% of the total).
Among detailed groups with at least 200 ads in both months, ads rose most over the year for Medical Practitioners and Nurses (up 21.6%).
They fell most for Education Professionals (down 19.6%).

The words follow fixed rules from the numbers: see the methodology.

Online job ads, the past five years

Unemployment rate, the past five years

Job ads by occupation group

The eight major groups, seasonally adjusted.

Online job ads by major occupation group, Australia, seasonally adjusted
Occupation group	Ads, September 2026	On the month	On the year	Direction
Managers	25,700	down 0.2%	up 5.2%	Rising
Professionals	60,900	up 1.6%	up 1.7%	Steady
Technicians and Trades Workers	30,500	down 2.4%	up 3.1%	Steady
Community and Personal Service Workers	19,700	down 1.9%	down 4.2%	Steady
Clerical and Administrative Workers	30,100	up 0.2%	down 3.9%	Steady
Sales Workers	16,300	down 2.0%	down 0.5%	Steady
Machinery Operators and Drivers	14,100	up 0.1%	up 12.5%	Rising
Labourers	14,600	up 0.3%	up 4.8%	Steady
All occupations	211,500	up less than 0.1%	up 1.5%	Steady

All detailed occupation groups

Online job ads by detailed occupation group, Australia, seasonally adjusted
Occupation group	Ads, September 2026	On the month	On the year	Direction
Chief Executives, Managing Directors & Legislators	1,130	up 3.0%	up 12.7%	Rising
Farmers and Farm Managers	260	up 10.9%	up 55.8%	Rising
Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers	7,960	up 1.8%	up 9.3%	Rising
Corporate Managers	8,400	down 0.3%	down 1.2%	Steady
Construction, Production and Distribution Managers	5,780	down 2.3%	up 7.6%	Rising
Health, Education, ICT and Other Managers	2,230	up 2.5%	up 2.5%	Steady
Arts and Media Professionals	1,280	up 1.4%	up 14.4%	Rising
Education Professionals	2,950	up 2.7%	down 19.6%	Falling
ICT Professionals	5,900	up 1.8%	down 12.4%	Falling
Legal, Social and Welfare Professionals	8,510	up 3.8%	up 0.1%	Steady
Business, Finance and Human Resource Professionals	7,710	down 1.0%	down 4.0%	Steady
Information Professionals	2,010	up 3.7%	down 1.0%	Steady
Sales, Marketing & Public Relations Professionals	2,630	down 0.2%	down 8.1%	Falling
Transport and Design Professionals, and Architects	1,950	down 2.6%	down 0.6%	Steady
Engineers	5,150	up 2.5%	up 18.7%	Rising
Science Professionals and Veterinarians	1,400	up 2.1%	up 0.7%	Steady
Health Diagnostic and Therapy Professionals	6,570	down 2.9%	down 4.3%	Steady
Medical Practitioners and Nurses	14,800	up 1.0%	up 21.6%	Rising
Engineering, ICT and Science Technicians	5,220	up 1.1%	up 6.7%	Rising
Automotive and Engineering Trades Workers	9,180	down 3.4%	up 4.2%	Steady
Construction Trades Workers	3,250	down 6.4%	down 5.3%	Falling
Electrotechnology and Telecommunications Trades Workers	3,930	down 3.1%	up 4.2%	Steady
Food Trades Workers	4,950	down 3.2%	up 11.1%	Rising
Skilled Animal and Horticultural Workers	1,450	down 1.7%	down 7.1%	Falling
Hairdressers, Printing, Clothing and Wood Trades Workers	1,010	down 5.5%	down 7.1%	Falling
Jewellers, Arts and Other Trades Workers	1,390	up 1.1%	up 0.1%	Steady
Health and Welfare Support Workers	2,460	down 2.0%	down 7.4%	Falling
Carers and Aides	10,600	up 0.2%	down 8.2%	Falling
Hospitality Workers	3,720	down 3.9%	up 11.5%	Rising
Protective Service Workers	1,050	up 1.3%	up 11.2%	Rising
Sports, Travel and Personal Service Workers	2,240	up less than 0.1%	down 7.1%	Falling
Numerical Clerks	5,850	up 3.9%	up 9.9%	Rising
Clerical and Office Support Workers	730	up 7.4%	down 0.4%	Steady
Other Clerical and Administrative Workers	5,990	up 0.5%	down 0.2%	Steady
Office Managers, Administrators and Secretaries	4,510	down 2.0%	down 5.7%	Falling
General-Inquiry Clerks, Call Centre Workers, and Receptionists	13,000	down 1.5%	down 10.2%	Falling
Sales Representatives and Agents	4,520	down 2.0%	down 10.6%	Falling
Sales Assistants and Salespersons	10,600	down 2.3%	up 3.8%	Steady
Sales Support Workers	1,160	down 4.2%	down 0.4%	Steady
Machine and Stationary Plant Operators	3,270	up 1.5%	up 14.3%	Rising
Mobile Plant Operators	3,790	down 0.1%	up 11.4%	Rising
Drivers and Storepersons	6,990	down 0.2%	up 12.2%	Rising
Cleaners and Laundry Workers	3,440	up 0.5%	up 13.3%	Rising
Construction and Mining Labourers	1,690	down 5.7%	up 3.3%	Steady
Factory Process Workers	2,060	up 7.2%	up 1.6%	Steady
Farm, Forestry and Garden Workers	810	down 2.7%	down 7.3%	Falling
Food Preparation Assistants	1,020	down 4.5%	up 8.7%	Rising
Other Labourers	5,500	down 0.1%	up 2.8%	Steady

States and territories

Job ads (seasonally adjusted) and unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted for the states, trend for the territories)
State or territory	Ads, September 2026	On the year	Direction	Unemployment rate, September 2026	On the year
New South Wales	61,600	down 0.3%	Steady	4.7%	up 0.5 points
Victoria	46,000	up 0.1%	Steady	5.1%	up 0.3 points
Queensland	50,600	up 1.4%	Steady	4.5%	up 0.4 points
South Australia	14,400	up 5.2%	Rising	4.2%	down 0.3 points
Western Australia	28,300	up 8.3%	Rising	4.2%	down 0.1 points
Tasmania	3,310	down 0.7%	Steady	5.0%	up 0.5 points
Northern Territory	2,690	down 5.5%	Falling	4.8%	up 0.5 points
Australian Capital Territory	4,660	down 5.3%	Falling	4.2%	up 0.1 points

By skill level

The level of education or experience the advertised job usually needs, as classified by the ABS.

Online job ads by skill level, Australia, seasonally adjusted
Skill level the job usually needs	Ads, September 2026	On the month	On the year	Direction
Skill level 1: bachelor degree or higher	78,400	up 1.3%	up 2.2%	Steady
Skill level 2: advanced diploma or diploma	24,400	down 0.9%	up 3.1%	Steady
Skill level 3: certificate IV, or certificate III with at least two years of on-the-job training	32,100	down 1.3%	down 1.0%	Steady
Skill level 4: certificate II or III	52,700	down 0.8%	down 0.1%	Steady
Skill level 5: certificate I or secondary education	24,600	down 0.5%	up 4.5%	Steady

Month by month

The past thirteen months, Australia: job ads seasonally adjusted, labour force seasonally adjusted
Month	Online job ads	Unemployment rate	Employed people
September 2025	208,400	4.4%	14,614,300
October 2025	209,100	4.3%	14,647,300
November 2025	206,400	4.3%	14,605,200
December 2025	212,700	4.1%	14,662,500
January 2026	218,900	4.1%	14,696,100
February 2026	211,300	4.3%	14,718,500
March 2026	212,900	4.3%	14,739,700
April 2026	211,100	4.5%	14,698,500
May 2026	203,100	4.4%	14,733,400
June 2026	206,400	4.4%	14,809,800
July 2026	211,400	4.5%	14,792,700
August 2026	211,400	4.7%	14,822,000
September 2026	211,500	4.7%	14,782,700

What this means

General notes on reading job ads in Australia, chosen by the direction of job ads over the year. They are not advice about your situation.

For job seekers

A steady count means the number of new ads is much the same as a year ago. The mix of occupations and places can still shift underneath, so look at the groups and regions that matter to you.

For students

Steady demand today says little about demand when you finish studying. Pair it with longer-term sources such as Jobs and Skills Australia's employment projections (opens another site) and Your Career (opens another site).

For employers

With ad numbers steady, competition for staff is likely to be similar to a year ago. The occupation tables show where that differs for the roles you hire.

Job ads are not all jobs: many roles are filled without an online ad. See the limits of the data.

Get the monthly briefing

The headline numbers for Australia and each state, once a month when new data is out.

Sources and licences

Online job ads: Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index (opens another site), September 2026 data, released 21 October 2026. © Commonwealth of Australia, used under CC BY 4.0 (opens another site). Figures rounded; changes, shares and descriptions by Career Calling Insights.

Labour force: Australian Bureau of Statistics (September 2026) 'Table 001. Labour force status by Sex, Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original' and 'Table 010. Labour force status by Sex, State and Territory - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original' [time series spreadsheets], Labour Force, Australia (opens another site), released 15 October 2026, accessed 8 November 2026. Used under CC BY 4.0 (opens another site). Figures rounded; changes and descriptions by Career Calling Insights.

Neither publisher endorses this site. How the numbers are turned into words: methodology. Spotted an error? Tell us.