The five Northern Rivers industries booming with job opportunities

The chances have never been better for those on the job hunt, with the Northern Rivers recording a record high number of vacancies. But these five industries are desperate for workers.

Healthcare was a surging sector for jobs in the North Coast region.

It seems we need jobseekers more than ever before in the Northern Rivers, with job vacancy numbers swelling to a high across every industry.

New data from Regional Australia Institute shows as of March 2021, 3578 jobs were advertised in the North Coast region.

The huge demand was second only to the Newcastle and Hunter Region in NSW.

It correlates with data that shows revealed 66,200 job vacancies were advertised across regional Australia in March, making it the largest number of regional vacancies since the records began in May 2010.

That number accounts for nearly a third of all Australian vacancies.

Regional NSW was also the the highest out of the states, with vacancies increasing by a whopping 72.5 percent from March 2020.

Regional Australian Job Vaccancies. Credit: RAI

In the North Coast, the jobs most in demand were Hospitality, Retail and Service Managers; Health and Welfare Support Workers; Automotive and Engineering Trades Workers; Drivers and Storepersons and Engineering, ICT and Science Technicians.

RAI CEO Liz Ritchie said this is the largest vacancy number since records began, surpassing the demand during the mining construction boom a decade ago.

“Regional job vacancies now account for nearly one third of all vacancies across the country. The last time the labour market was this strong was during the mining construction boom in 2011-2012,” Ms Ritchie said.

“Back then, the overall economic situation was defined by the country’s two-speed economy, with job ads narrowly based in the resource-rich states and industries.

“By contrast, the current strength in the regional labour market is broadly based across all states and territories and occupations, with the greatest demand being for professionals and skilled tradespeople.”

Industries of March job growth. Credit:RAI

Comparatively, the North Coast also ranked the most needy across other coastal regions.

Illawarra and South advertised 2297 jobs, Sunshine Coast posted 2718 and meanwhile Gosford and Central Coast only advertised 1618.

This could be due to healthcare being the “standout sector driving labour demand”.

The news had led RAI to launch its national multimillion-dollar Move to More campaign, pushing people to the regions.

“Our research in December 2020 found that one in five people living in Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are considering a move to regional Australia within the next three years – half of them, within 12 months,” Ms Ritchie said.

“We need to embrace this regional renaissance and rebalance the nation’s population away from our congested capitals if we are to have a sustainable and productive future.”