Regional Labour Demand
Regional job vacancies dipped by 4.6% to 75,037 in June 2024. This latest number of job ads is also 13.9% lower than a year earlier.
In comparison, metro areas experienced a lighter monthly drop of 3.5% but a greater annual decline of 15.1%.
Regional Australia job vacancies
Jobs and Skills Australia, monthly internet vacancies, RAI
All regions recorded reduced job ads in June 2024. The five regions with the smallest falls are scattered across Queensland and South Australia.
The five regions recording the smallest monthly dips in vacancies from May 2024 to June 2024 were:
- Outback Queensland dipping by 0.1% (570 compared to 571)
- Far North Queensland dipping by 1.7% (6,422 compared to 6,536)
- Sunshine Coast dipping by 1.8% (3,154 compared to 3,211)
- Fleurieu Peninsula & Murray Mallee dipping by 2.0% (1,010 compared to 1,030)
- Port Augusta & Eyre Peninsula dipping by 2.1% (581 compared to 593)
Most regions experienced an annual decline in June, with only three regions showing an increase.
The three regions with jumps in vacancies in June 2024 compared with June 2023 were:
- Fleurieu Peninsula & Murray Mallee up by 5.3%
- Regional Northern Territory up by 2.4%
- Hobart & Southeast Tasmania up by 1.3%
The largest annual falls in regional Australia were Outback Queensland, Dubbo & Western NSW, and Tamworth and North West NSW.
In terms of the occupations in demand in June, vacancies are largest for Professional roles (27%), followed by Technicians and Trades roles (15%), Community and Personal Service roles (13%), and Clerical and Administrative roles (13%). The spread of job vacancies across occupation groups highlights the significant demand for skilled professionals and essential service providers in regional communities.
SOURCES The Internet Vacancy Index is updated monthly by Jobs and Skills Australia (https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/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).
Regional Australia is defined as regions outside the five major capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.