Yahoo Finance The 20 most in-demand jobs right now
Australia is currently facing a ‘staggering’ skills shortage, with the number of occupations feeling the pinch doubling in the past year.
According to a new National Skills Commission report, the number of jobs struggling to fill positions has spiked from 153 to 286 over the last year.
Nearly a third of all Australian sectors are experiencing worker shortages, the Skills Priority List found. Of the 20 largest employment occupations, more than half are facing shortages.
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Job vacancies have increased more than 40 per cent in the year ending August 2022, the report said, hitting 309,900 jobs.
The most in-demand workers were registered nurses, software and applications programmers, aged, disability and child carers, and construction managers.
Health workers in high demand
Registered nurses were by far the most in-demand workers, with 9,266 jobs vacant based on the quarterly average to August 2022.
A number of other health professionals also made the list, including GPs, surgeons, physiotherapists, dentists, paediatricians, and intensive and emergency medicine specialists.
The proportion of health professional occupations facing shortages grew by 47 per cent in 2022.
"The result appears mostly driven by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic," the report said.
“Employers struggled to fill vacancies for these occupations, with around half of the vacancies for health professionals remaining unfilled.”
The 20 occupations in demand
According to the report, the following jobs are the most in-demand based on job vacancy data:
Registered nurse - 9,266
Software and applications programmer - 7,841
Aged and disability carer - 5,101
Construction manager - 4,984
Child carer - 4,549
Motor mechanic - 4,316
Retail manager - 4,244
Chef - 4,141
ICT business and systems analyst - 3,830
Metal fitter and machinist - 3,565
Cook - 3,438
Electrician - 3,396
Civil engineer - 3,268
Contract, program and project admin - 2,842
GP and resident medical officer - 2,306
Early childhood teacher - 2,253
Physiotherapist - 1,482
Mining engineer - 1,048
Gardener - 1,038
Auditors, secretaries and corporate treasurer - 868
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