ECT online job ads down 17% year on year as approved providers pare back vacancy listings

The monthly count of online early childhood teacher (ECT) job advertisements across Australia has fallen substantially compared to last year according to new data released by Jobs and Skills Australia, as part of its Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) series.

Nationally, there were 2,109 ECT listings identified by the IVI in May 2024, compared to 2,537 in May 2023, a fall of 17 per cent and the fourth consecutive monthly fall in listings record so far this year.  

It is unclear what is driving this trend at this juncture although a reduction in listings would suggest that approved providers are less inclined to advertise vacancies than previous years perhaps reflecting that historic vacancies have been filled and retention rates improved. 

On a state and territory level, as has been seen in staff waiver applications, divergences in online job listings between jurisdictions are notable with the larger states recording falls, New South Wales was down 20 per cent, Victoria down 31 per cent and Queensland down 13 per cent respectively and the smaller ones rises. 

South Australia and Western Australia, which represent 6 per cent and 9 per cent respectively of all ECT applications recorded by the IVI in May, both recorded substantial gains but were not able to influence the national trends and highlight once again the localised nature of aspects of the early childhood education care (ECEC) sector. 

Whilst maintaining a national lens it is clear that the growth in the number of online listings posted by approved providers across Australia continues to trend lower with clear reductions evident over the last four years. 

This year alone, listings for centre managers are currently down 3 per cent so far, and the educator category whilst up 4 per cent remains significantly below the abnormally high growth rates recorded in 2021 and 2022. 

As noted above it is to early to say with certainty what precisely is driving these trends but it is clear from the data that approved providers are overall posting fewer jobs than in previous years which by extension suggests that roles are being filled and vacancy rates are falling, both of which imply the crisis workforce conditions experienced last year have subsided, and in some cases materially. 

To view this month’s internet vacancy index please click here.