Employers seeking tradespeople hit hardest, with 65% reporting difficulty and vacancies left unfilled
Nearly half of Australian employers looking for staff struggled to fill roles in the September quarter of 2026, even as fewer businesses were recruiting, according to new data from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).
The latest Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS) found that 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty hiring. That was up three percentage points from 42% a year earlier.
Over the same period, the share of employers recruiting fell three points to 47%.
Breakdown by occupation groups
Hiring challenges were sharpest for Technicians and Trades Workers, where 65% of employers recruiting for these roles reported difficulty, up three percentage points over the year.
"Recruitment challenges remained most acute for Technicians and Trades Workers," the repor read.
Sixty per cent of these employers also said vacancies had stayed unfilled for more than a month, up five points. According to JSA, this was "the highest result across all major occupation groups on both measures."
Difficulty also increased for employers recruiting Professionals, rising five points to 50%.
The steepest annual rise was among Sales Workers, up 10 points to 34%. Clerical and Administrative Workers bucked the trend, with difficulty falling six points to 29%.
Breakdown by industry, cities
Among industries, recruitment difficulty was highest in Manufacturing, at 58% and up six points, followed by Construction, unchanged at 56%. The report said these results suggested "ongoing hiring challenges in parts of the goods-producing sector.
By contrast, Accommodation and Food Services recorded the highest recruitment rate, at 66%. It also had the lowest difficulty rate among the industries surveyed, at 26%.
Meanwhile, employers outside the major cities faced greater hurdles. In Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote Australia, 53% of recruiting employers reported difficulty, up four points.
The rate was 49% in Inner Regional Australia and 42% in major cities.
"Labour market conditions remained comparatively stronger outside major cities," the report read. "Employers in these areas were also the most likely to expect staff growth over the next three months (21%)."
Across the states, Queensland recorded the highest recruitment difficulty, at 49%. New South Wales saw the largest increase among the states, up five points to 47%.
Western Australia was the only state where difficulty eased, falling three points to 46%.
Looking ahead, 19% of employers expected to increase staff over the next three months, down four points from a year earlier. Only three per cent expected to reduce their workforce.
The REOS is a telephone survey of at least 1,000 employers each month, targeting businesses with five or more employees. JSA noted that results may be subject to seasonal factors and other volatility and should therefore be used with a degree of caution."
