Recent labour market and skills trends at the regional level in Australia

This chapter provides an overview of recent labour market and skills trends in Australia. The Australian economy has experienced steady growth in overall productivity levels over the past ten years. The unemployment rate is lower than the OECD average. With a low unemployment rate, about 34% of Australian employers find it challenging to fill in vacancies, particularly for skilled trade positions. A similar pattern holds true for skill shortages across all states and territories. According to the Internet Vacancy Index, over the past five years, job advertisements have increased by 31% nationally (in trend terms).