Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has released the latest version of the Australian Labour Market update in its website last 28 February 2023 to provide current issues affecting Australia’s labour market.
The Australian Labour Market Updates are published quarterly to provide the public with insight into the status of Australia’s market trends. The information about the labour trends is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics data sources during the quarter of December 2022.
Generally, the Australian Labour Market Update presents information on the following:
- Employment trends and the unemployment rate
- Growth in industries, occupations and skill levels
- Labour demand
- Job advertisements
- Recruitment trends and difficulties
- Skills shortages and labour market tightness
A Quick Glance at the December 2022 Australian Labour Market Update
The last quarter of December 2022 has seen continuous demand and growth for labour supply but has also experienced a slight easing into the level of demand in the latter parts according to JSA’s Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) and the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS).
The total employment rate also presents an optimistic outlook during the December 2022 quarter since there is considerable growth in full-time employment as well as low levels of underemployment rates, which suggest that the labour market has improved its use of the workforce.
While there have been improvements in the labour market trends compared to the previous quarter, there are still persistent issues that the government wishes to address soon. One of them is skills shortage in several sectors.
Top 20 In Demand Occupations In Australia
Below is the Top 20 in demand occupations along with their internet vacancy index:
| No. | Occupation | IVI index |
| 1 | Registered Nurses | 8,377 |
| 2 | Software and Applications Programmers | 6,269 |
| 3 | Aged and Disabled Carers | 4,642 |
| 4 | Child Cares | 4,277 |
| 5 | Construction Managers | 4,230 |
| 6 | Motor Mechanics | 3,924 |
| 7 | Retail Managers | 3,777 |
| 8 | Chefs | 3,725 |
| 9 | Generalist Medical Practitioners | 3,352 |
| 10 | Metal Fitters and Machinists | 3,137 |
| 11 | ICT Business and Systems Analysts | 3,053 |
| 12 | Civil Engineering Professionals | 2,871 |
| 13 | Electricians | 2,839 |
| 14 | Early Childhood (Pre-primary School) Teachers | 2,493 |
| 15 | Contract, Program and Project Admininstrators | 2,392 |
| 16 | Advertising and Marketing Professionals | 2,265 |
| 17 | Physiotherapists | 1,262 |
| 18 | Gardeners | 1,015 |
| 19 | Mining Engineers | 957 |
| 20 | Database and Systems Administrators, and ICT Security Specialists | 942 |
Analysis Of In Demand Jobs That Are Short of Employment
JSA has undertaken preliminary analysis to understand what drives the persistent skills shortage in the country by digging into whether the shortage is due to a lack of people with essential technical skills or by other factors such the non-technical qualities believed important by employers or the willingness of applicants to apply for vacancies.
The analysis has discovered that 7 out of the 20 in demand jobs were short of employment due to the lack of applicants with essential technical skills. This emphasises the importance of addressing the skills gap in the country through high-quality training.
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