Australia's top 10 most in-demand jobs

The jobs market in Australia has begun to ease with job ads falling 1.6% in February this year according to Seek's February Employment Report.

Job ads on the platform are down 12.2% year-on-year with applications per job decreasing for the first time in eight months, down 1.8% in January.

"The job market remains tight when comparing to pre-COVID, but in the context of last year's Great Job Boom, the market has eased and candidate activity is returning to normal levels," says Seek's managing director, Kendra Banks.

The news from Seek comes hot on the heels of the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) labor force data.

The unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in February after over 64,000 Australians found work, bringing the rate back to the same level as December 2022.

Head of Labor Statistics at the ABS Bjorn Jarvis says the increase in employment follows falls across December and January.

"In January, this reflected a larger than usual number of people waiting to start a new job, the majority of whom returned to or commenced their jobs in February.

"This was particularly evident in the South-East of Australia, with larger than seasonal numbers of people entering into employment across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT," he says.

Top roles by job ad volume

Across February, most industries reported single digit declines in job ads with the largest declines in the design and architecture industry (-7.1%) and sports and recreation (6.2%).

Of the industries that recorded an increase in job ads, healthcare and medical, education and training and community services were the greatest by volume.

In fact, the roles most in need of workers in February were those offering care and support for the oldest and youngest Australians, being childcare, aged care and disability workers.

"Healthcare and medical, education and training and community services and development were among the few industries that increased in February, with roles in aged care nursing, childcare and aged and disability support among the greatest in volume and the most in-demand to fill," says Banks.

State by state

Two states and the Northern Territory broke the mold and recorded an increased in job ad volume over February, with Western Australia seeing a 1.4% increase while Tasmania saw a marginal rise of 0.1%.

New South Wales saw the biggest decline in the country of 2.7% led by a 4.5% loss of roles in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Victoria was just behind with an overall job ad decline of 1.7%, driven by a drop in trades and services roles.

An 11.5% drop in information and communication technology roles drove a 1.5% decline in total jobs in Queensland, while South Australia saw a decline of 0.9%.

Western Australia was the only state to record an increase in application per job ad, with trades and services and mining roles driving the increase.

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