Australia’s Labour Market Eases: Occupation shortages decline as recruitment becomes easier in 2025

Australia’s labour market is showing clear signs of softening, with employers finding it noticeably easier to fill job vacancies across the nation, according to the latest Occupation Shortage Report released by Jobs and Skills Australia for the September quarter 2025.

The report, which draws on quarterly data from the Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised (SERA), reveals that the national vacancy fill rate—an indicator of how many advertised roles are successfully filled—stood at 70.2%. While this marks a slight quarterly dip of 0.3 percentage points, it represents a significant annual improvement of 2.2 percentage points, reflecting a broader trend of easing shortage pressures in the Australian job market.

The data shows a continued reduction in occupation shortages, with the proportion of roles considered to be in shortage dropping to 29% in 2025, down from 33% in 2024 and a peak of 36% in 2023. This improvement has been most pronounced among professional roles, particularly in business, finance, engineering, health, and information and communications technology (ICT).

Of the 69 occupations that moved out of shortage status in 2025, nearly half were professional positions. For example, roles such as Financial Investment Advisor, Chemical Engineer, Nurse Educator, and Developer Programmer have seen a notable easing in hiring difficulties. Fill rates for these “no-shortage” professional roles soared to 77%-82%, well above both the economy-wide average and the averages for occupations still experiencing shortages.

Metropolitan areas continue to outperform regional areas in fill rates, but the gap is narrowing. In the September quarter, metropolitan fill rates reached 71.5%, while regional areas saw a greater quarterly and annual improvement, rising to 67.1%. The difference between metropolitan and regional fill rates now stands at 4.4 percentage points—down from a two-year average gap of 6.7 points.

The report highlights divergent trends across different skill levels. Fill rates surpassed 72% for high-skill occupations (Skill Levels 1, 2, and 4), but were notably lower at 54.3% for Skill Level 3 roles, typically comprising technical and trades occupations. While fill rates for Skill Level 1 roles (such as managers and professionals) continued to improve, other skill levels saw slight declines compared to the previous quarter and year.

Among major occupation groups, Clerical and Administrative Workers achieved the highest fill rates (82%), while Technicians, Trades Workers, and Labourers saw decreases over the quarter. However, all groups reported an improvement in the number of suitable applicants per vacancy.

Employers across Australia are seeing a larger pool of qualified and suitable candidates per vacancy. For professional roles no longer in shortage, the average number of qualified applicants per vacancy exceeded the national average and was nearly double that of shortage occupations. This improvement was particularly striking in business, finance, engineering, and ICT occupations, driven in part by a sharp decline in demand—most notably, a 49% drop in ICT job postings, consistent with recent sector layoffs.

Despite this positive trend, some health-related professions still face constraints due to limited education and training capacity, although these roles also transitioned out of shortage status thanks to high fill rates and reduced demand.

The duration of advertised vacancies provides further evidence of an easing labour market. In 2025, vacancies for non-shortage professional roles were typically filled within 6.3 to 7.9 weeks, significantly shorter than the 10.2 weeks seen for shortage occupations. Recruitment difficulty rates also dropped for these roles, falling below both the economy-wide and shortage occupation averages.