Seasonally adjusted hours worked increased by 2.2% and filled jobs increased by 3.1% in the December quarter 2021 when compared to the December quarter of 2020, according to research by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Filled jobs refer to jobs with employed people in them.

When compared to the previous quarter, seasonally adjusted hours worked increased by 4.3% and filled jobs increased by 3.4%.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said, "Hours worked and filled jobs both rebounded strongly in the December quarter 2021, as the lockdowns and other restrictions from the September quarter were eased.”

“As we have seen throughout the pandemic, the recovery in hours worked was slower than the recovery in jobs, as business activity progressively ramped up during the quarter,” Jarvis said. “While filled jobs in the December quarter were 0.6% higher than June quarter 2021, hours worked were 0.7% lower.”

Jarvis added, “The December quarter was before the widespread impacts on hours worked associated with the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which were seen early in January. Labour Force statistics showed an 8.8 per cent fall (seasonally adjusted) in hours worked between December and January, with more people than usual sick or on leave.”

Meanwhile, demand for workers again grew in the December quarter following a fall in the September quarter, with job vacancies increasing by 58,000 (16.8%).