Regional Australia Institute releases Regional Labour Market Update for the December Quarter

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.

Sara Johnston