The September quarter 2024 Occupational Shortage Report reveals the national fill rate increase to 68.1%, up 2.0 percentage points from June quarter 2024, signalling softening labour market conditions.
Fill rates improved across all major group occupations, with metropolitan areas (69.7%) showing faster recovery than regional areas (62.9%). However, Skill Level 3 occupations still struggle, with a low 53.9% fill rate.
The report’s spotlight analysis delves into “suitability gaps,” a measure that highlights the share of qualified applicants considered unsuitable by employers. The highest suitability gaps appear in highly skilled roles like finance, science, and ICT, while retail and hospitality management, and other low skilled roles have the lowest.
Another key takeaway is that large business employers attract more applicants and may have stricter hiring criteria, resulting in higher suitability gaps. Small businesses, with fewer candidates to choose from, may have more flexible requirements, leading to lower suitability gaps.
Read more in the full report.
