The Australian labour market displayed remarkable resilience over the March quarter 2024 with the pace of employment growth increasing more strongly than initially anticipated. Despite the improvement over the quarter, labour market activity has eased over the last year.
A number of partial indicators, such as the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey and Internet Vacancy Index, suggest that the labour market will soften further in the coming months. Despite easing conditions, employers continue to report difficulty in filling vacant positions.
Analysis across regions shows some variation across jurisdictions with recruitment activity declining more slowly outside capital cities. The Healthcare and Social Assistance industry continues to lead employment growth and recruitment difficulty for higher skilled occupations continues to exceed that of lower skilled occupations.
In Focus: Assessing the long-term performance of regional labour markets
Jobs and Skills Australia’s Regional Labour Market Indicator (RLMI) measures regions’ labour market strength compared with the national average. Analysing changes in the measure over time can identify trends in region-specific labour markets.
For around 80% of regions, current labour market strength varies little from the long-term average, with a clear pattern of poor conditions among Australia’s remote regions.
Where current conditions have changed from the long-term average, it is possible to identify drivers in characteristics such as industry composition, availability of natural resources and location.
Two regions with changing conditions are explored in more detail, connecting changes with skill shortages, industry compositions and recent population growth.
For a more comprehensive story, read the full report.
