Worst worker shortfall in regions is doctors and nurses
Job vacancies are growing at 10 per cent a year compared to three per cent for the cities, stifling growth and economic prosperity, a new report shows.
Doctors and nurses are the most in-demand jobs across regional Australia as the movement of people out of the big cities continues to pile pressure on services and stifle economic growth in the country.
Almost half of all doctor and nursing roles being advertised in Australia are outside the large metropolitan areas, despite the regions being home to 9.5 million people, a third of the nation’s population, a new report finds.
The Regional Australia Institutes report reveals overall job vacancies in the regions grew 10 per cent in the year to December 2022 compared to 3 per cent in cities. The issue is entrenched, with the number of advertised regional roles growing 97 per cent since 2017, more than double the rate in metropolitan Australia.
Receptionists, carers, call centre workers and sales staff are other significant areas of shortfall, the, Regional Jobs 2022: The Big Skills Challenge report finds.
The gap between demand and supply in critical jobs is hindering the progress of regional Australia even though demand to relocate out of the cities remains high, RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie said.
“(There is an) unprecedented challenge playing out in regional towns and cities as labour supply struggles to keep up with demand,” she said. “While record levels of movers are voting with their feet and choosing a life in the country, significant staff shortages are stifling growth.”
Queensland, which has four of the five top regions for people moving from within Australia – Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Fraser Coast and Bundaberg – had the highest level of vacancies of any state, with almost 24,000 roles advertised, the report finds. Only Greater Geelong sits among that group.
The report finds regional areas nationwide are vying for the same type of workers, in particular health professionals, with vacancies of doctors and nurses up nearly 200 per cent since 2017.
“Despite regional Australia representing a third of the population nearly half of medical practitioners and nursing vacancies are in regional Australia,” the report says. “Of all regional areas, half have (doctors and nurses) as the most in-demand ...”
The report also finds carers and aides, which includes childcare workers, was the most in-demand role for seven of the 30 regions examined. “Vacancies in these roles have risen more than 180 per cent since 2017, just two years after the commencement of the National Disability Insurance Scheme,” the report says.
The report follows on from a new plan for regional Australia developed by a national alliance of organisations including the Business Council of Australia, Australian Medical Association and Australian Industry Group which focuses on driving better education, training, childcare, housing, migration and job outcomes for the regions.
Regional Australia contributes 40 per cent of the nation’s economic output and two-thirds of export earnings.
The new report proposes policies to bolster childcare options in the regions, which is constraining workforce participation, as well as a focus on addressing the housing under-supply. It calls for a target to double the proportion of overseas migrants settling in regional Australia by 2032. Currently only 17 per cent of international migrants settle in regional Australia.
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