Full length articleHard-to-fill vacancies: An analysis of demand side responses in the Australian state of Queensland

This paper provides an analysis of the determinants of job vacancy durations in Queensland. This is done by using a Cox Proportional Hazard model to analyse data generated by an employer survey. Analysis indicates that important determinants of vacancy duration include the skill level of the vacancy, the accessibility of the region of the vacancy, and the size of the firm advertising the vacancy. Wage offers are found to have a confounding effect, with higher wage offers apparently associated with longer duration. However, an ancillary regression uncovers evidence of wage posting. Surprisingly, little evidence of variation in vacancy duration across industries is found. Results from a proportional hazard model with shared frailty based on the firm advertising the vacancy, suggest unobserved heterogeneity is also important.