The Skills Priority List (SPL) is developed by Jobs and Skilled Australia (JSA). It provides a detailed view of occupations in shortage in Australia and indicates future demand for different occupations. The SPL is released annually, providing a point-in-time assessment of the labour market.
Our analysis looks at the latest JSA Skills Shortages Analysis and latest SPL, released on October 2023. Further details regarding SPL methodology can be found here.
Current Labour Market Summary:
Overall, the 2023 Skills Priority List showed that 36% of occupations were in national shortage, an increase from 31% in 2022. Tightness in the labour market from late 2021 has fuelled a rise in shortages over the past 3 years.
However, unemployment and fill rates are gradually rising. Many employers and industries are finding their recruitment challenges are easing. The health sector, however, with a large proportion of professionals and a reliance on specialised and technical skill sets, will continue to experience labour shortages, especially in the face of on-going high demand for health services as the population ages and grows via migration. Other characteristics affecting the health sector labour market, as outlined in the latest Jobs and Skills Labour Market Update, Feb-24, include:
- the continued shift away from full-time jobs growth, towards part-time employment
- a decrease in aggregate hours worked, and an increase in the under-employment rate
- a large proportion of women workers who, due to children and other responsibilities, work reduced hours
- recruitment difficulty is higher in regions that are further away from large population hubs –therefore workforce shortages are far more pronounced for rural and remote health.
- employers continue to encounter greater difficulty recruiting for higher-skilled occupations, including skilled occupations at current levels of remuneration, conditions of employment, and geographical location.
- the continued gap between qualified and suitable applicants, whereby applicants may have the required qualifications but are deemed unsuitable for the job advertised, possibly due to a lack of experience or specialist skills (see Skills Shortage quarterly, Dec-23).
The 2023 Skills Priority List (SPL) for Health Sector roles:
Table 1. below provides an SPL snapshot of ANZSCO 6-digit Occupations relevant to the Australian Health Sector. Out of 118 Occupations, 80 (or 68%), are listed as having a workforce shortage (2023 National Labour Market Rating). Despite this, most occupations recorded a future recruitment demand rating ‘at economy average,’ or in line with the average demand growth across all SPL occupations in Australia.
Table 1. Jobs and Skills Australia, Skills Priority List 2023: Health Sector Occupations (ANZSCO 2022)
Table 1 notes: Generated by MedicalJobsAustralia.com using data from JSA Skills Shortages Analysis> data downloads > Skills Priority List - September 2023.xlsx. See 2023 SPL Methodology for more information.
Prepared by the MedicalJobsAustralia.com editorial team.