Western Australia’s job vacancies and building approvals have both ticked up, according to data released today and Wednesday. CCIWA Senior Economist Sam Collins explains.
Job vacancies lift as WA jobs market remains tight
Fresh job vacancy data out this morning has found the number of vacancies in WA has risen over the three months to February, up 4.1% to 43,200.
While still 30% lower than its peak in late 2022, this is now the greatest number of job vacancies in a year, in a further sign that the labour market softening experienced over the past two years has stalled.
Comparing the number of job vacancies to the number of people unemployed can also help gauge how tight the labour market is – the greater the ratio of vacancies to unemployed (or the number of job vacancies per unemployed person), the tighter a market is.
On this metric, WA’s labour market remains the tightest of all states by far – in WA, this ratio sits at 0.74, with South Australia next tightest at 0.56. However, it has fallen marginally since November (down 0.02) as the number of unemployed people also increased slightly over the quarter.
Despite the tightness, CCIWA still expects the labour market to gradually loosen over the year, as the supply and demand for labour returns to a better balance.
New apartments help boost building approvals
Building approvals data released yesterday found the total number of approvals in WA has continued to rise, up 17.1% over the month to 2,228.
This is now the highest level since May 2021, when the State and Federal Government’s building grants saw a surge in approvals for building activity.
The result was largely driven by new apartment approvals, up an enormous 137.7% over the month to 820 – the highest level recorded in a single month since late 2017.
On the flipside, the number of housing approvals declined 9.6% to 1,408, the lowest number in a year.
The increase in apartment approvals is particularly encouraging, given the high cost of development relative to sale prices in recent years meaning new apartments have been few and far between.
The increasing number of approvals should continue to provide a much-needed boost to housing supply over the coming years, while also supporting greater dwelling investment activity.
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