Educator online job listings still elevated but divergences starting to appear

Nationally the number of early childhood education and care (ECEC) educator online job listings posted by approved providers in April 2024 was stable however, divergences are starting to appear in the larger states according to new data released by Jobs and Skills Australia.

 

4,313 educator job listings were posted in April 2024, lower than the average over the last twelve months but still substantially higher than that recorded prior to the onset of COVID-19, according to the internet vacancy index. 

 

 

However, when looking at the number of listings across the three largest states by the number of services, namely, New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, the trends of educator jobs listings are starting to shift. 

 

Most notably the number of educator listings in Victoria are now down 8 per cent compared to the same period last year, at the lowest level recorded since April 2022 with the April 2024 reading marking a new low since the peak recorded in November 2023. 

 

 

New South Wales listings are also down compared to last year but the April level remained higher than the seasonal low recorded in February 2023 however, demand for educators in Queensland appears to be still very robust with listings up 19 per cent compared to last year and current levels well above the seasonal low point record in February. 

 

That being said, with respect to the other two tracked ECEC roles, centre managers and early childhood teachers, the latter is most notable with ECT job listings having fallen five of the last six months and now probing levels not seen since early 2022.  

 

 

Job ads for ECTs were down 4 per cent compared to the prior month and 8 per cent lower than last year with numbers confirming that approved providers are currently less inclined to be advertising for ECTs than at any point in the last two years. 

 

The overall picture of listing numbers across the ECEC sector in April appears to signal that although the overall labour market remains tight relative to the past it is loosening, a trend that bodes well for approved providers that have been struggling with securing team members in recent years.