16/10/2024
2024 Occupation Shortage List (OSL) โ Key Insights
Table shows the top 20 largest employing occupations in Shortage in the 2024 OSL. They comprise a diverse range of occupations with an employment base across various sectors, including health, aged care, education, construction, professional and business services.
The top 20 occupations in Shortage employed 20.3% of workers that were within the scope of the OSL.
The 5 largest occupations in Shortage were Aged or Disabled Carer, Primary School Teacher, Secondary School Teacher, Truck Driver (General) and Electrician (General). Together, they made up 8.9% (or 824,973 people) of total employment in occupations within scope of the OSL. In addition to their share and level of employment, these occupations play a vital role in the economy.
Most of these occupations have been in Shortage for at least 3 years. Some of the largest employing occupations, such as Aged or Disabled Carer, Electrician (General), Child Care Worker and Carpenter, have been in Shortage from 2021. Of the top 20 employing occupations that were in Shortage for 4 years, most were in the Technicians and Trades Workers and Community and Personal Service Workers major groups. However, General Practitioners and Developer Programmer, which are within the Professionals major group, were also in Shortage for 4 years.
The reasons for persistent shortages are likely to be multifaceted. They include population ageing, technology advances, and other impacts of structural changes in the labour market, such as, constraints in the supply of qualified and experienced workers, working conditions and pay, and government policies and regulations. Any future solutions to address persistent shortages will, therefore, likely need to be long-term and holistic.
Another noticeable feature of the occupations in persistent Shortage is that they are highly gender skewed. Only a few, such as Solicitor and General Practitioner had a more balanced distribution of men and women.
