These are the jobs that Australians really want but have trouble finding

ONE line of work consistently tops the list of most-searched job categories, making it difficult for a lot of Australian jobseekers to crack.

The jobs Australians really want

ADMINISTRATION and secretarial jobs are hot property yet hard to nab, with jobseekers searching in their droves.

The job category has been the most-searched on careerone.com.au every month this year followed by either retail or hospitality, travel and tourism.

Careerone.com.au chief executive Ben Foote said searches were representative of the volume of open administration roles in the market.

“They suit a lot of candidates whether they are school leavers, people looking for part-time work, returning mothers, retirees returning to the workplace or people between jobs,” he said.

“We are seeing an average of more than 30 applications for most secretary and administration jobs on the site so there is strong demand for these roles.”

A popular job ... CareerOne chief executive Ben Foote says the site gets lots of searches for administrative work.

More than 1.6 million Australians worked in clerical and administrative roles, making up about 14 per cent of the workforce.

In the five years to November, 2019, a further 121,400 jobs were forecast to be created, Department of Employment figures showed.

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Brisbane jobseeker Ally Nagle applied for about 50 administration roles since the start of the year but knew competition was high.

“I haven’t been able to get very many responses, which is frustrating,” she said.

“A lot of people want to be getting into the admin roles. I find it appealing so obviously I’m not the only one.”

Job hunting ... Ally Nagle is one of many Australians applying for administration work. Picture: Darren England.

Ms Nagle, who worked in administration during high school, said she was hardworking and liked the idea of an office environment.

Australian Institute of Office Professionals national president Leanne Fisher said the best administrative professionals had both a qualification and a range of skills and knowledge.

“The administrative role is not really about something one can fill in with while they are looking for something else,” she said.

“Professional associations throughout the world are trying to change the perception (to show) that it is indeed a profession.”

Recruitment firm Hays’ latest Quarterly Report found like-for-like industry experience was what set the best candidates apart.

“Soft skills are also now a big factor, especially for team administration and sales administration jobs. Basic customer service and MS package skills are also essential,” it revealed.

“(There is) a trend towards part-time roles in lower level positions as businesses blend multiple functions into single roles. For example, receptionists are performing administration and even accounts duties and office managers are taking on human resources and project work.”

TOP 10 SEARCHED CATEGORIES: JULY

1. Administration & Secretarial

2. Retail

3. Hospitality, Travel & Tourism

4. Education, Childcare & Training

5. Logistics, Supply & Transport

6. Health, Medical & Pharmaceutical

7. Accounting

8. Trades & Services

9. IT

10. Construction, Architecture & Interior Design

SOURCE: CareerOne.com.au

*Read more employment news in the CareerOne section in Saturday’s News Corp Australia newspapers

Originally published as These are the jobs that Australians really want but have trouble finding