The five most in-demand jobs of the year

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New financial year budgets, business change projects and higher workloads have resulted in a boost in new jobs according to recruiting experts Hays.

Despite this week's rise in the unemployment rate, permanent and temporary hiring intentions are in fact positive says Hays.

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in June from 5.7% in the previous three months.

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It was the highest jobless rate since February as the economy added 7900 jobs and the number of unemployed increased by 9900.

According to the Hays Quarterly Report for July to September, job candidates are up-skilling to keep up with technological developments.

This fits in well with the prime minister's National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA), as the government paves the way for a services-based economic future.

Infrastructure also played a big part in 2016 budget with the government sitting on $50 billion worth of current and future plans.

The next few years will involve the construction of more roads, railway lines, a Western-Sydney airport and a $40 billion naval ship building investment.

What are the most in-demand jobs?

Hays has come up with a list of list of 25 hiring hotspots in its Quarterly Report for July to September 2016. Here are the top five:

1. Construction project managers

As several states experience a highly active construction market, estimators, foremen/women, project managers and site supervisors are among the skills in demand.

Employers are looking for candidates with proven experience delivering relevant projects like multi-storey residential projects or commercial projects valued above $20 million.

Given current construction activity, demand will remain high.

2. Contract administrators

A contract administrator manages contracts made with customers, vendors, partners or employees.

Due to the government's large investment in infrastructure, administrators with construction experience are needed.

3. Development and operations positions (within the technology space)

Development and operations (DevOps) is the blending of tasks performed by a company's application development and systems operations teams.

Hays has seen a particular increase in demand for candidates with strong skills in software deployment tools like Jenkins, Bamboo and Chef to automate the deployment of customised applications.

There is also demand for candidates who have more experience on the operational side, which is necessary since candidates need to liaise between numerous stakeholders.

4. Early childhood educators

In early years education there is high demand for TAFE-qualified Diploma Educators and degree qualified Early Childhood Educators.

There is also a need for out of school hours (OOSH) sector professionals.

5. Financial planners

Employers are currently looking for financial planners with a degree and an advanced diploma of financial planning (ADFP), and preferably a certified financial planner (CFP) qualification.

Given the increasing focus from small enterprise financial planning firms through to the big four banks on growing their wealth market share, demand will remain high.

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Steph Nash was a staff writer at Money until 2017.