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Job market report

Job markets in Western Australia

Online job ads, unemployment and pay across Western Australia's 5 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
25 October 2026
Areas
5 job market areas

Key findings

  1. Growing: online job ads across Western Australia were up 7.5% on a year earlier, from 26,477 to 28,470 a month in the three months to September 2026.[1][2]

    Section 1: Job ads across Western Australia →
  2. Online job ads grew fastest in Outback WA (south), up 10.0%, and Greater Perth, up 8.6%, comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.[1]

    Section 2: Job market areas in Western Australia →
  3. Unemployment was highest in Greater Perth (5.3%) at the 2021 Census.[3]

    Section 2: Job market areas in Western Australia →
  4. Unemployment was lowest in Outback WA (north), 4.1%, and the Wheatbelt, 4.1%, at the 2021 Census.[3]

    Section 2: Job market areas in Western Australia →

1 Job ads across Western Australia

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 5 areas' figures.

Western Australia
+7.5%
28,470 ads a month[1][2]
Australia
+0.6%
the sum of every area[1][2]
Areas with more ads
3
of 5; 2 had fewer[1]

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%.

Figure 1.1: Online job ads a month, Western AustraliaThree-month average, the sum of its 5 areas, October 2023 to September 2026.
22.5k25k27.5k30k32.5k35kJun 2024Mar 2025Dec 2025Sep 2026Western AustraliaWestern Australia, Sep 2026: 28,47028,470

Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; ViewJobs analysis[2].

Show the numbers
Online job ads a month, Western Australia
MonthOnline job ads a month
October 202333,474
November 202332,160
December 202328,955
January 202428,523
February 202428,462
March 202430,728
April 202429,406
May 202429,505
June 202428,413
July 202428,141
August 202427,421
September 202427,934
October 202428,735
November 202427,448
December 202424,382
January 202523,738
February 202523,904
March 202526,781
April 202525,415
May 202525,783
June 202525,006
July 202526,009
August 202525,713
September 202526,477
October 202526,833
November 202526,215
December 202523,685
January 202623,709
February 202624,462
March 202627,551
April 202626,250
May 202626,183
June 202625,425
July 202626,759
August 202627,442
September 202628,470

2 Job market areas in Western Australia

Every job market area in Western Australia, with its online job ads and its latest ABS figures. Select an area for its report.

Figure 2.1: Online job ads, change on a year ago, by area, Western AustraliaThe three months to September 2026 against a year earlier. Select an area for its report.

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].

Show the numbers
Online job ads, change on a year ago, by area, Western Australia
AreaAds a month, September 2026Change on a year ago
Outback WA (south)1,565+10.0%
Greater Perth23,190+8.6%
Bunbury1,284+3.0%
Outback WA (north)1,730−0.2%
Wheatbelt701−1.4%
Table 2.1: Job market areas in Western AustraliaOnline job ads are the three months to September 2026; ABS figures are the latest year for each.Scroll the table sideways for every column.
AreaAds a month, September 2026Change on a year agoMedian employee income, 2023Unemployment, 2021 CensusPopulation, 2025
Bunbury1,284+3.0%$57,4514.2%210,962
Wheatbelt701−1.4%$53,7424.1%149,617
Outback WA (north)1,730−0.2%$77,0004.1%102,732
Outback WA (south)1,565+10.0%$62,9084.2%128,306
Greater Perth23,190+8.6%$66,5435.3%2,452,765

Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; Australian Bureau of Statistics[3].

3 Quick answers

Short answers to the questions people ask about Western Australia's job markets, each with its period and source.

How many jobs are advertised in Western Australia?

28,470 online job ads a month were placed across Western Australia, on average, in the three months to September 2026.

Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; ViewJobs analysis[2].

Is Western Australia's job market growing or shrinking?

Growing: online job ads across Western Australia were up 7.5% on a year earlier, from 26,477 to 28,470 a month in the three months to September 2026.

Sources: Jobs and Skills Australia[1]; ViewJobs analysis[2].

Where are job ads growing fastest in Western Australia?

Online job ads grew fastest in Outback WA (south), up 10.0%, and Greater Perth, up 8.6%, comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].

Where are job ads falling in Western Australia?

Online job ads fell most in the Wheatbelt, down 1.4%, and Outback WA (north), down 0.2%, comparing the three months to September 2026 with a year earlier.

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia[1].

Where is unemployment highest in Western Australia?

Unemployment was highest in Greater Perth (5.3%) at the 2021 Census.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics[3].

Where is unemployment lowest in Western Australia?

Unemployment was lowest in Outback WA (north), 4.1%, and the Wheatbelt, 4.1%, 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.

  1. 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 25 October 2026.
  2. 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.
  3. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Data by Region, v1.6.0. dbr.abs.gov.au. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Accessed 25 October 2026.

Cite this report

ViewJobs (2026). Job markets in Western Australia, data to September 2026. https://www.viewjobs.com.au/job-market/wa

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.

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