Australia’s labour market has cooled, but many employers are still struggling to fill the roles that matter most. On 3 November 2026 the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate to 4.85% and said the unemployment rate is projected to rise by more than it expected in August (Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Monetary Policy Decision, 3 November 2026).

Yet hiring has not got easier. In September 2026, fewer employers were recruiting than a year earlier, but more of those who were recruiting reported difficulty, especially for trades roles (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Hiring difficulties persist as recruitment eases, October 2026). Skilled trades, health, education and construction remain hard to recruit for. For employers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and the regions, the challenge is no longer finding applicants in general. It is reaching the right ones for hard-to-fill roles.

At a glance

  • Fewer employers are hiring, but more are struggling: 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty in September 2026, up 3 points on the year, rising to 65% of those recruiting for Technicians and Trades Workers.
  • The RBA raised the cash rate to 4.85% on 3 November 2026. Unemployment rose to 4.7% in September 2026, after staying at or below 4.5% from December 2021 to July 2026.
  • 27% of assessed occupations were in national shortage in 2026, down from 29% in 2025, and only 69.1% of vacancies were filled in the June quarter 2026.
  • 33% of women and 27% of men work in occupations below their skill potential, a talent pool many employers are not yet reaching.

The RMG view: a cooling market tempts employers to cut recruitment marketing and wait for candidates to come to them. For shortage roles, that rarely works. The employers who fill their hardest roles into 2027 will be the ones who match their approach to the reason each role is hard to fill.

Where Australia’s skills shortages are now

The 2026 Occupation Shortage List, released in October 2026, found 279 occupations, 27% of those assessed, in national shortage, down from 29% in 2025 and a peak of 36% in 2023. Shortages are easing, but 127 occupations have been in shortage every year from 2021 to 2026. Technicians and Trades Workers and Professionals make up 90% of these persistent shortages, concentrated in construction, engineering, electrotechnology and telecommunications trades, health, early childhood education, and engineering and science roles (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, 2026 Occupation Shortage List factsheet, October 2026).

The reasons differ by role, and that matters for how you recruit. Jobs and Skills Australia found the leading driver is still a lack of qualified applicants, especially in health, teaching and construction. In engineering, science and management, employers report gaps in employability skills and experience, even among qualified candidates. And in care and service roles, low pay, poor conditions and retention problems drive shortages.

A softer market, but not an easy one

The wider market has eased. Australia’s unemployment rate stayed at or below 4.5% from December 2021 to July 2026, the longest such period since the 1970s (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Jobs and Skills Report 2026, October 2026). It has now risen for two months in a row. The seasonally adjusted rate rose to 4.6% in August and to 4.7% in September 2026, when employment fell by 39,300 people and the participation rate fell to 66.8%. Full-time employment still rose by 34,400, while part-time employment fell by 73,700 (Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, September 2026).

Recruitment is easing, but difficulty is not. In Jobs and Skills Australia’s Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, 47% of employers were recruiting in September 2026, down 3 percentage points over the year, while 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty, up 3 points. The problem is most acute for Technicians and Trades Workers: 65% of employers recruiting for these roles reported difficulty, and 60% said vacancies had remained unfilled for more than a month, the highest of any major occupation group on both measures (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Hiring difficulties persist as recruitment eases, October 2026).

Monetary policy is tightening at the same time. The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.85% on 3 November 2026, noting that the economy is slowing and the unemployment rate has risen (Source: Reserve Bank of Australia, Monetary Policy Decision, 3 November 2026).

Job vacancies fell to 325,000 in August 2026, down 0.9% from May and 31.2% below the May 2022 peak (Source: ABS, Job Vacancies, Australia, August 2026).

Employers who recently advertised are seeing more applicants. In the June quarter 2026, total, qualified and suitable applicants per vacancy all increased and were higher than 12 months earlier. Yet the national fill rate was 69.1%, up 0.5 percentage points on the quarter but 1.0 percentage point lower than a year earlier. Metropolitan fill rates fell over both the quarter and the year, while regional fill rates rose over both periods (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Employer Activity Insights, September 2026).

In other words, more applications do not automatically solve a skills shortage. For the hardest roles, the right candidates are often not actively looking, or are weighing several offers.

What the new Jobs and Skills Report adds

Jobs and Skills Australia’s Jobs and Skills Report 2026, published on 12 October 2026, points to two opportunities for employers (Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, Jobs and Skills Report 2026).

  • Hidden talent. 33% of women and 27% of men work in occupations below their skill potential, which the report describes as a major opportunity to better use the skills Australia already has. For hard-to-fill roles, some of the people you need may already be in the workforce, in jobs that do not use their full skills.
  • Broader skills. References to critical thinking and problem-solving in construction trade job ads have more than tripled over the past decade. Employers increasingly need these capabilities alongside technical trade skills, so job ads need to describe them clearly and honestly.

How to attract talent for hard-to-fill roles

The most effective approach is to match your recruitment marketing to the reason a role is hard to fill:

  • Where qualified applicants are scarce, widen the pool. Look at transferable skills, career changers and people returning to work, and promote any training or apprenticeship pathways you offer.
  • Where experience is the gap, be precise about what is truly essential, and show how you will support new starters to build the rest.
  • Where pay and conditions are the barrier, be upfront. Show the salary, rosters and flexibility clearly, and explain how you look after people once they join.
  • Tell the location story for regional roles: lifestyle, housing, commute and community, not just the job description.
  • Build a pipeline before you need it, using talent pools, employee referrals and regular content that keeps your employer brand in front of passive candidates.
  • Measure results by role, tracking which channels deliver people who get to interview and offer, not just application volume.

Pay clarity is worth highlighting. In a Robert Half survey of 500 Australian hiring managers, conducted in October 2025, 69% said they had lost a candidate because salary expectations were misaligned after leaving pay details out of a job ad. Among those who include salary information, 91% said it improves the quality of applications they receive (Source: Robert Half Australia, August 2026).

Got a role that just won’t fill?

Our Sydney team can review one hard-to-fill role with you, from the job ad to the channels and how your employer brand comes across, and show you what we would change. See how we run audience-led talent attraction campaigns and recruitment advertising optimisation, or talk to our Sydney team.

Frequently asked questions

Which occupations are in shortage in Australia?

The 2026 Occupation Shortage List from Jobs and Skills Australia found 279 occupations, 27% of those assessed, in national shortage. The most persistent shortages are in construction, engineering, electrotechnology and telecommunications trades, health, early childhood education, and engineering and science roles. The full list is published on the Jobs and Skills Australia website.

Why are some roles still hard to fill when unemployment is rising?

Higher unemployment does not always produce the right skills in the right place. Jobs and Skills Australia found shortages are driven by a lack of qualified applicants, gaps in experience and, in some care and service roles, pay, conditions and retention.

Is it getting harder to recruit in Australia?

For many employers, yes. Jobs and Skills Australia found that in September 2026 fewer employers were recruiting than a year earlier, but 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty, up 3 percentage points. Difficulty was highest for Technicians and Trades Workers, at 65%.

How can employers attract candidates for regional roles?

Sell the location as well as the job. Clear information on pay, housing, lifestyle and career progression, alongside targeted local advertising, helps candidates picture the move.

Conclusion

Australia’s skills shortages have eased, but they have not gone away. The employers who fill their hardest roles into 2027 will be the ones who understand why each role is hard to fill and shape their talent attraction around it, rather than relying on more advertising alone.

Sources

Have a specialist or regional role in Australia that just won’t fill? Book a call with our Sydney team. We’ll look at one hard-to-fill role with you, from the job ad to the channels and your employer brand, and show you what we’d change. We can also help with your wider talent attraction, employer branding and recruitment marketing plans for 2027.