Regional Labour Demand
Regional job vacancies have continued to climb, reaching 92,500 advertised jobs in October 2023. Apart from the seasonal summer drop at the beginning of this year, regional vacancies have been around 90,000 or more each month for over a year now. This latest number represents a 1.3 per cent increase from September, but is 1.7 per cent lower than the figure from a year earlier. While regional job vacancy growth continues, metro vacancies remained steady over the last month. Over the year, metro areas experienced a much larger decline of 10.7 per cent.
Regional Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and regional South Australia saw the largest increases in vacancies during the month, with the top growth regions scattered across these jurisdictions.
The annual change in job vacancies across all regions varied significantly, ranging from a substantial increase of 26.9 per cent to a decrease of 13.3 per cent. In comparison, Melbourne and Sydney, the nation’s largest cities, observed the steepest annual declines at 15.6 per cent and 14.5 per cent respectively.
Regional Australia job vacancies
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, monthly internet vacancies, RAI
The five regions that recorded the largest monthly increases in vacancies in October 2023 are:
- South West WA with 7.7% more vacancies in October 2023 (1,826) than in September 2023 (1,696)
- Yorke Peninsula & Clare Valley in SA up by 7.0% (386 compared to 361)
- Regional Northern Territory up by 5.5% (1,171 compared to 1,110)
- Southern Highlands & Snowy in NSW up by 3.7% (1,505 compared to 1,451)
- Ballarat & Central Highlands in VIC up by 3.6% (1,406 compared to 1,357)
The five regions with the largest annual increases in vacancies between October 2022 and October 2023 are:
- Regional Northern Territory up by 26.9%
- Central Queensland up by 13.0%
- Wimmera & Western in VIC up by 12.2%
- Southern Highlands & Snowy in NSW up by 12.1%
- Darwin in NT up by 10.0%
In terms of the occupations being demanded, the most vacancies are for Professional roles (29% of all vacancies in October), followed by Technicians and Trades roles (15%), and Community and Personal Service roles (13%).
SOURCES The Internet Vacancy Index is updated monthly by the Department of Education Skills, Employment and Business (https://labourmarketinsights.gov.au/our-research/internet-vacancy-index/). The RAI has an interactive Regional Job Vacancy map of the data showing vacancies in 37 regions across Australia (regionalaustralia.org.au/home/regional-jobs-vacancy-map).