The number of seasonally adjusted filled jobs in Australia fell 0.1% to 15.9 million in the March quarter, following a 0.3% increase in the prior three-month period, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Total jobs decreased 0.2% to 16.3 million, while job vacancies dropped 4% to 329,600.

"This is the first drop in filled jobs since the September quarter 2021, when lockdowns were introduced to combat the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant," said Sean Crick, the bureau's head of labor statistics.

"Filled jobs have increased consistently since 2021, marking a total growth of 14.6% over the period," Crick added.

Hours worked rose 0.3% to 5.96 billion hours while average income per employed person lifted 1.4% to AU$24,755.10.

"Hours worked have continued to grow since the December quarter 2023, despite the impact of adverse weather events," Crick added.

On an annual basis, filled jobs rose 2% in the March quarter. Total jobs rose 1.7%, while job vacancies fell 9.4%.