According to the ABS, payroll jobs rose by 1.3 per cent in the fortnight to 16 October, following a fall of 0.5 per cent seen the fortnight prior.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said the figures coincided with lockdowns and other restrictions starting to ease across certain states.
“During the latest fortnight there were noticeable differences in week-to-week changes, which reflected changes in lockdown conditions and seasonal changes around the end of the school holidays.”
Changes in payroll jobs over the fortnight for the other five states and territories ranged between a 0.4 per cent rise in Queensland to a 0.4 per cent fall in Tasmania, according to the figures.
“Almost every industry saw a rise in payroll jobs across the fortnight to mid-October, with the largest rises seen in Accommodation and food services (up 5.6 per cent) and Arts and recreation services (up 4.8 per cent). These rises mainly reflected recovery in these industries in New South Wales, which accounted for 95.3 per cent and 92.6 per cent of the nationwide increases,” Mr Jarvis added.
“Between late June and early October, NSW had seen payroll jobs losses of more than 10 per cent in six of the 19 industries. As restrictions eased, there was rapid recovery in payroll jobs, particularly in Construction and in Retail.”