The Regional Australia Institute has released the Regional Labour Market update for the December Quarter 2022, revealing that regional economies and labour markets continue to outperform metro markets.
Image source: https://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/Web/Toolkits-Indexes/Regional-Jobs-Update/Updates/2023/Regional-Labour-Market-Update-December-Quarter-2022.aspx
Job vacancies in the regions reached a record peak of 94,100 in October 2022, while dropping to 81,000 in December 2022 - nearly double the pre-pandemic monthly average.
Image source: https://www.regionalaustralia.org.au/Web/Toolkits-Indexes/Regional-Jobs-Update/Updates/2023/Regional-Labour-Market-Update-December-Quarter-2022.aspx
Regional unemployment averaged only 3% this quarter, with a high demand for labour across all regions. The regional participation rate reached 71.4% in May 2022 - the highest rate in more than 30 years. Net migration to regional areas remains above pre-pandemic levels, however this increase in the regional labour force is not happening quickly enough to meet demand.
The high demand for labour in regions is underscored by:
High and enduring business confidence and conditions - favourabloe economic conditions in regions, domestic tourism growth, high commodity prices
Reigonal population growth - migration from cities
Ongoing expansion of the services sector - expansion of labour-intensive service industries e.g. health, education, aged care, childcare
The constraints and dynamics on the supply side of the regional labour force include:
The pool of workers ready and available to work has almost dried up
High labour mobility - employers need to backfill jobs more than usual
Closed international border - long-term and short-term migrants and sources of seasonal transient labour have not returned to pre-pandemic levels
Local skills mismatch - less opportunity for VET and tertiary learning in regions
Gaps in key regional soft and hard infrastructure - e.g. housing, childcare
RDA Riverina continues to work on addressing these challenges in our region with our workforce development plan.