Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has released the 2025 Occupation Shortage List and it shows that only 29% of occupations are now in shortage compared with 36% in 2023 and 33% in 2024. They note that this improvement is a result of there being:
- more qualified applicants for job vacancies
- higher vacancy fill rates
- lower recruitment difficulty rates, and
- “softer demand”.
Despite the overall improvement there are still large numbers of occupations in shortage, “particularly in health, education and construction” (which are priority areas for governments in higher education and in VET – as the latest Fee Free TAFE data shows).
JSA also continues to shine a light on the impact of gender balance on occupations experiencing shortages, noting that “Occupations with gender balance or greater inclusion of women, older workers, First Nations people and people with disability are far less likely to face shortages. In contrast, male-dominated roles, especially in the trades, remain persistently difficult to fill.”
Looking at occupations requiring Certificates II, III and IV (skill levels 3 and 4) – there are a total of 404 occupations at these skill levels, and 287 (71%) are not experiencing a national shortage. A further nine (9) have only regional shortages at the national level.
The remaining 108 occupations are all in shortage at a national level and therefore across most but not always all jurisdictions.
Those in shortage nationally include some of our most vital occupations, such as :
- Aged or Disabled Carer
- Airconditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic
- Bricklayer
- Bus Driver
- Cabler (Data and Telecommunications)
- Carpenter
- Child Care Worker
- Clinical Coder
- Electrician (General)
- Gasfitter
- Light Technician
- Metal Fabricator
- Motor Mechanic (General)
- Motorcycle Mechanic
- Painter
- Panelbeater
- Plumber (General)
- Sheetmetal Worker
- Telecommunications Linesworker / Telecommunications Line Mechanic
- Toolmaker
- Veterinary Nurse
- Wall and Floor Tiler
- Welder (First Class)
There were 139 occupations in persistent shortage between 2021 and 2025:
- Technicians and Trades Workers made up half (51%) of these occupations in persistent shortage, and they were particularly trades related to construction, engineering, and automotive.
- Professional occupations (ie those requiring higher education graduates) made up 37% of those in persistent shortage – in industries including “health, early childhood education, and roles in engineering and science.”
- Amongst Community and Personal Service Workers nurses and carers were the key occupations in persistent shortage.
In 2025, 21 occupations were in regional shortage, without also being in shortage in capital cities, compared to 12 in 2024, indicating growing regional shortages in some occupations.
