How many jobs are advertised in New South Wales?
63,186 online job ads a month were placed across New South Wales, on average, in the three months to September 2026.
Job market report
Job markets in New South Wales
Online job ads, unemployment and pay across New South Wales' 14 job market areas, from Jobs and Skills Australia and the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Each area has its own full report.
- Latest data
- JSA September 2026; ABS 2023 to 2025 and the 2021 Census
- Updated
- 24 October 2026
- Areas
- 14 job market areas
- Sources
- JSA and ABS
Key findings
Steady: online job ads across New South Wales were down 0.8% on a year earlier, from 63,706 to 63,186 a month in the three months to September 2026.[1][2]
Section 1: Job ads across New South Wales →Online job ads grew fastest in the Capital Region (up 26.7%), Coffs Harbour - Grafton (up 13.7%) and the Central West (up 12.2%), comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.[1]
Section 2: Job market areas in New South Wales →Online job ads fell most in Richmond - Tweed (down 6.4%), Newcastle and Lake Macquarie (down 5.2%) and the Hunter Valley (down 3.3%), comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.[1]
Section 2: Job market areas in New South Wales →Unemployment was highest in the Mid North Coast (5.8%), Coffs Harbour - Grafton (5.6%) and Greater Sydney (5.1%) at the 2021 Census.[3]
Section 2: Job market areas in New South Wales →
1 Job ads across New South Wales
Jobs and Skills Australia's Internet Vacancy Index is a monthly count of online job ads, compiled from SEEK, CareerOne and Workforce Australia. Regional figures are three-month averages. It is not a count of ViewJobs' own ads. This page adds up the 14 areas' figures.
Online job ads, the three months to September 2026 against a year earlier. An area counts as more or fewer when its change shows as more than 0.0%.
Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; ViewJobs analysis[2].
Show the numbers
| Month | Online job ads a month |
|---|---|
| October 2023 | 85,510 |
| November 2023 | 79,575 |
| December 2023 | 68,477 |
| January 2024 | 65,545 |
| February 2024 | 65,178 |
| March 2024 | 71,897 |
| April 2024 | 70,289 |
| May 2024 | 69,679 |
| June 2024 | 66,667 |
| July 2024 | 65,363 |
| August 2024 | 65,178 |
| September 2024 | 67,407 |
| October 2024 | 69,018 |
| November 2024 | 66,211 |
| December 2024 | 57,758 |
| January 2025 | 56,464 |
| February 2025 | 55,806 |
| March 2025 | 62,955 |
| April 2025 | 59,856 |
| May 2025 | 60,508 |
| June 2025 | 59,026 |
| July 2025 | 62,087 |
| August 2025 | 61,562 |
| September 2025 | 63,706 |
| October 2025 | 63,877 |
| November 2025 | 62,329 |
| December 2025 | 54,527 |
| January 2026 | 54,193 |
| February 2026 | 55,812 |
| March 2026 | 64,027 |
| April 2026 | 61,235 |
| May 2026 | 60,847 |
| June 2026 | 58,491 |
| July 2026 | 60,675 |
| August 2026 | 61,393 |
| September 2026 | 63,186 |
2 Job market areas in New South Wales
Every job market area in New South Wales, with its online job ads and its latest ABS figures. Select an area for its report.
- Down more than 20%
- Down 10–20%
- Down 3–10%
- About the same (±3%)
- Up 3–10%
- Up 10–20%
- Up more than 20%
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].
Show the numbers
| Area | Ads a month, September 2026 | Change on a year ago |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 1,453 | +26.7% |
| Coffs Harbour - Grafton | 912 | +13.7% |
| Central West | 1,478 | +12.2% |
| Mid North Coast | 1,561 | +11.1% |
| Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven | 773 | +10.0% |
| Murray | 1,029 | +7.1% |
| Riverina | 1,238 | +6.9% |
| New England and North West | 1,405 | +2.9% |
| Far West and Orana | 983 | +2.1% |
| Illawarra | 1,427 | −0.7% |
| Greater Sydney | 44,625 | −2.6% |
| Hunter Valley | 2,051 | −3.3% |
| Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 2,803 | −5.2% |
| Richmond - Tweed | 1,448 | −6.4% |
| Area | Ads a month, September 2026 | Change on a year ago | Median employee income, 2023 | Unemployment, 2021 Census | Population, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Region | 1,453 | +26.7% | $60,618 | 3.5% | 248,376 |
| Central West | 1,478 | +12.2% | $58,989 | 4.1% | 216,979 |
| Coffs Harbour - Grafton | 912 | +13.7% | $50,693 | 5.6% | 152,331 |
| Far West and Orana | 983 | +2.1% | $57,790 | 4.4% | 118,372 |
| Hunter Valley | 2,051 | −3.3% | $61,247 | 4.7% | 316,250 |
| Illawarra | 1,427 | −0.7% | $62,765 | 4.6% | 330,469 |
| Mid North Coast | 1,561 | +11.1% | $50,415 | 5.8% | 239,566 |
| Murray | 1,029 | +7.1% | $53,320 | 4.0% | 130,078 |
| New England and North West | 1,405 | +2.9% | $55,076 | 4.8% | 191,401 |
| Newcastle and Lake Macquarie | 2,803 | −5.2% | $63,592 | 4.7% | 412,359 |
| Richmond - Tweed | 1,448 | −6.4% | $49,880 | 4.8% | 265,824 |
| Riverina | 1,238 | +6.9% | $56,771 | 3.8% | 166,404 |
| Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven | 773 | +10.0% | $54,200 | 4.2% | 165,285 |
| Greater Sydney | 44,625 | −2.6% | $66,619 | 5.1% | 5,638,830 |
Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; Australian Bureau of Statistics[3].
3 Quick answers
Short answers to the questions people ask about New South Wales' job markets, each with its period and source.
Is New South Wales' job market growing or shrinking?
Steady: online job ads across New South Wales were down 0.8% on a year earlier, from 63,706 to 63,186 a month in the three months to September 2026.
Where are job ads growing fastest in New South Wales?
Online job ads grew fastest in the Capital Region (up 26.7%), Coffs Harbour - Grafton (up 13.7%) and the Central West (up 12.2%), comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].
Where are job ads falling in New South Wales?
Online job ads fell most in Richmond - Tweed (down 6.4%), Newcastle and Lake Macquarie (down 5.2%) and the Hunter Valley (down 3.3%), comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].
Where is unemployment highest in New South Wales?
Unemployment was highest in the Mid North Coast (5.8%), Coffs Harbour - Grafton (5.6%) and Greater Sydney (5.1%) at the 2021 Census.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics[3].
Where is unemployment lowest in New South Wales?
Unemployment was lowest in the Capital Region (3.5%), the Riverina (3.8%) and the Murray (4.0%) at the 2021 Census.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics[3].
4 Notes and method
What the figures count, where they come from, and the rules these pages apply to them.
- The areas
- The reports cover 50 job market areas, 42 regional ABS regions and the eight capital cities: the areas Jobs and Skills Australia publishes online job ads for. Each has its own report.
- Online job ads
- Jobs and Skills Australia's Internet Vacancy Index is a monthly count of online job ads, compiled from SEEK, CareerOne and Workforce Australia. Regional figures are three-month averages. It is not a count of ViewJobs' own ads. It counts ads, not jobs filled, by occupation and area.
- State and national ads
- These pages read the index's series by area, so a state or national figure here is the sum of its areas, read at the same month for every area and marked as ViewJobs analysis. It can differ from the state and national totals Jobs and Skills Australia publishes separately.[2]
- The map
- Areas are shaded by their change in online job ads on a year earlier. The shades are set from the spread of changes among the areas shown, so one change can take a different shade on a state page and on the national map.
- Small numbers and ties
- An area with fewer than 5 ads a month, now or a year earlier, is shown as "fewer than 5" and is not shaded or ranked. Areas tied at the figure shown share a rank.
- ABS figures
- The latest ABS income figures here are for the year to 30 June 2023; population counts are more recent. Every figure shows its year. These pages take unemployment from the Census: each figure is the rate at the Census named, not a current rate. The ABS's monthly Labour Force estimates by region are not included yet.
5 References
Every figure on this page points at one of these entries.
- Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index, September 2026. jobsandskills.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-10/internet_vacancies_anzsco2_occupations_gccsa_and_sa4_regions_-_september_2026.xlsx. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Accessed 24 October 2026.
- ViewJobs, ViewJobs analysis of the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index, September 2026. jobsandskills.gov.au/data/internet-vacancy-index. State and national figures are the sum of the ABS areas in Jobs and Skills Australia's regional series.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics, Data by Region, v1.6.0. dbr.abs.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Accessed 24 October 2026.
Cite this report
ViewJobs (2026). Job markets in New South Wales, data to September 2026. https://preview.viewjobs.com.au/job-market/nsw
Licence
Contains data from Jobs and Skills Australia, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics, used under CC BY 4.0. ViewJobs has charted the data and, where marked as ViewJobs analysis, added areas together.
