New report shows industries with greater workforce stability
One in 45 employees in Australia lands a new employer every month, according to a new report from Indeed, which looked at job mobility across the country.
Indeed analysed the start and end dates of work experiences on individual CVs between 2022 and 2024 to identify the career movement of employees in Australia.
It found that around 2.2% of Indeed users in Australia switched into a new job every month, with the switching rates varying across occupations.
The highest switching rate across the country was recorded in Agriculture and Forestry, with 3.3%. Levels were also elevated in the Loading and Stocking, as well as Food Preparation and Service industries.
"More frequent job switching likely reflects a combination of lower pay and a larger share of entry-level jobs," the Indeed report read.
"These jobs are often viewed as a stepping stone in a person’s career and typically attract younger candidates who have higher job mobility."
On the other hand, the lowest job switching rate in Australia is at 1.4%, recorded in the industries of childcare, management, and sports.
Career change for Australians
The report found that the nursing occupation category had the least share of job switchers leaving the profession, with about 33%.
Departure rate was also low in software development (39%), personal care and home health (41%), physicians and urgeons (45%), and therapy (46%).
"A common, though not universal, thread among these occupations is a high barrier to entry, with workers needing to gain considerable experience, education, qualifications and training in order to enter the profession," the report read.
"That long-term commitment might signal the passion that these workers have for their chosen career, the sacrifices that they have made or even that they don't want to 'waste' that investment by leaving the industry."
The report also identified occupations such as nursing and physicians and surgeons as "closed circuit" areas, where it is difficult to enter but also rare to leave.
"These roles attract relatively little outside talent, with new entrants requiring extensive education and a specialised skill-set before entering the healthcare sector. But on the flip side, they also lose relatively little talent," the report read.
On the other hand, it identified hospitality and tourism, medical information, as well as insurance jobs as "revolving door" areas, where the occupations find many external jobseekers, but also lose a lot of them to other professions.
"Job mobility varies considerably across the Australian job market and that can have real implications for recruitment and staff retention," Indeed said.
It noted that high turnover jobs face the challenge of retaining employees, who are mostly junior workers entering the workforce.
But low turnover jobs face the potential challenge of a skills shortage, as attracting outside talent is harder and training and development is crucial.
"Ultimately, retention is much easier in some occupations than in others. Nurses, doctors, chefs, and tech workers may change employers, pursuing better conditions or greater opportunities, but they rarely leave the profession altogether."
