The number of job vacancies in Australia’s tech sector has fallen sharply over the past year, as overall vacancies across the economy also declined in the latest quarter.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) latest quarterly job vacancies survey found the total number of open roles fell by just under 1 per cent in the three months to August.

There are now 325,000 job vacancies across Australia’s private and public sectors.

The decline was driven by the private sector, where vacancies fell by 2 per cent over the quarter, while public sector vacancies increased by nearly 8 per cent.

“This decline in job vacancies was driven by the private sector, notably in business goods and services,” ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said.

“This was offset somewhat by rises in customer facing roles including in retail trade.”

Tech vacancies fall sharply

Professional, scientific and technical services recorded the second-largest decline in job vacancies of any industry over the quarter.

Vacancies in the sector fell by 17.3 per cent to 29,000 in August.

That represents a decline of nearly 15 per cent, or 5,000 roles, compared with a year earlier.

Despite the decline, professional, scientific and technical services still has the fourth-highest number of vacancies of any industry.

Healthcare and social assistance has the most vacancies, followed by accommodation and food services, retail trade and manufacturing.

The largest quarterly declines in vacancies were recorded in the ACT, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and Western Australia, while New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia recorded slight increases.

Private sector vacancies fell in every state and territory except Victoria and South Australia.

Public sector vacancies increased to 38,700, with numbers rising in every jurisdiction except Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT.

A tougher market for tech workers

The latest figures come amid growing signs that Australia's tech recruitment market has cooled.

Recruitment rates in the technology industry have fallen “well below” the all-industry average in the last financial year.

Just under a third of surveyed Australian tech employers said they planned to recruit during the 2025-26 financial year, compared with 49 per cent across all industries.

The slowdown comes as the federal government continues to grapple with its target of reaching 1.2 million tech-related jobs by 2030.

The Industry department recently stopped measuring progress against the target, with documents showing there were around 999,000 tech-related jobs as of February this year.

At the same time, a recent parliamentary inquiry heard that Australia “cannot meet” its needs for tech workers and skills without supporting skilled migration.

Science and technology industry bodies told the inquiry that Australia is facing significant challenges in attracting and retaining critical tech talent, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and energy.

The latest vacancy figures also come amid ongoing concerns about the impact of artificial intelligence on tech employment, particularly in software development.

However, several reports have found little evidence so far of a major decline in software development jobs.

Employment in software development has grown by 25 per cent since November 2022 – when ChatGPT launched – reaching around 199,000 people.