Job Vacancy Rate

The job vacancy rate is the proportion vacant positions (number) to total positions (vacant positions plus employed persons ):

Technically this ratio will miss-state the vacancy rate to the extent that 2 employed persons share one position (for example through job sharing), or 1 employed person occupies multiple positions (for example casual workers employed at multiple organisations). The ratio is nevertheless useful in adjusting the vacancy numbers to adjust for overall labour force growth.

Beveridge Curve

Describes the relationship between the unemployment rate and the vacancy rate across the business cycle. As the economy grows, unemployment decreases and as labour gets harder to find vacancies increase.