Australia's Workforce Woes:
The Challenge of Finding Suitable Staff
The Australian business landscape is grappling with a critical predicament – the difficulty in finding suitable staff. The latest release of Business Conditions and Sentiments by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) paints a revealing picture of the challenges faced by the employment sector. The comprehensive data illuminates the struggles that businesses across various industries are enduring in securing the right talent:
Staffing Challenges: A Prevalent Hurdle
Almost a third (31%) of employing businesses are encountering difficulties in finding suitable staff to fill roles. This marks a substantial increase from the previous year (27%), signifying a persistent challenge in recruitment efforts.
Impact on Business Operations
Large and medium-sized businesses, in particular, face heightened hurdles, with 66% and 62%, respectively, reporting challenges in securing suitable staff. Notably, this shortage has significantly impacted the operational effectiveness of small and medium businesses, highlighting the urgency of the staffing crisis.
Industry Insights
Industries such as Accommodation and Food Services, Education and Training, Retail Trade, and Administrative and Support Services top the list in grappling with staffing shortages. These sectors have witnessed a marked surge in difficulties, as reflected in the increased percentages compared to the previous year.
Industry | Jun-22 | Jun-21 |
Accommodation and Food Services | 51% | 38% |
Education and Training | 47% | 25% |
Administrative and Support Services | 43% | 24% |
Retail Trade | 39% | 18% |
Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services | 34% | 19% |
Construction | 31% | 32% |
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services | 29% | 37% |
Other Services (b) | 28% | 36% |
Information Media and Telecommunications | 27% | 22% |
Health Care and Social Assistance | 26% | 26% |
Arts and Recreation Services | 26% | 22% |
Transport, Postal and Warehousing | 26% | 30% |
Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 26% | 22% |
Mining | 22% | 22% |
Manufacturing | 21% | 35% |
Financial and Insurance Services | 19% | 18% |
Wholesale Trade | 12% | 22% |
Types of Roles in Demand
Businesses struggling to fill positions highlighted a spectrum of jobs they found challenging to fill. The most common roles reported include those in industries such as Accommodation and Food Services, Education and Training, Administrative and Support Services, Retail Trade, among others.
From largest to smallest, these jobs include:
- Building Trades
- Clerical Workers
- Labourers
- Salespersons
- Hospitality workers
- Automotive & Engineering trades
- ICT Professionals
- Managers,
- Health Professionals
- Business Professionals,
- Education Professional
- Engineering & Science Professionals,
- Personal & Other Service Workers
- Chefs & Cooks
- Drivers
- Machinery & Plant Operators
- Care workers
Charting the Employment Landscape
The ABS data, represented through insightful graphs and tables, vividly portrays the prevalence of staffing challenges across business sizes and industries, offering a comprehensive view of the employment scenario.
Problems faced | Small businesses | Medium businesses | Large businesses | All businesses |
Increase wages or salaries | 29.00% | 49.00% | 49.00% | 30.00% |
Increase staff numbers | 25.00% | 52.00% | 57.00% | 27.00% |
Re-train existing staff | 21.00% | 45.00% | 48.00% | 26.00% |
Rearrange job roles and responsibilities | 20.00% | 36.00% | 39.00% | 21.00% |
Increase staff hours | 19.00% | 20.00% | 18.00% | 19.00% |
Introduce new flexible working arrangements | 14.00% | 20.00% | 25.00% | 14.00% |
Outsource work to a third party | 10.00% | 18.00% | 22.00% | 10.00% |
Introduce new benefits | 8.00% | 15.00% | 20.00% | 8.00% |
Reduce staff hours | 5.00% | 6.00% | 1.00% | 5.00% |
Reduce staff numbers | 2.00% | 2.00% | 3.00% | 2.00% |
The Path Ahead
The compelling data from ABS underscores the critical need for innovative solutions to bridge the gap between available talent and businesses in search of skilled professionals. This acute shortage necessitates strategic intervention, collaborative efforts, and innovative recruitment approaches to address the challenges faced by businesses.
The ABS report presents an in-depth analysis, revealing the pressing issue of finding suitable staff across varied industries and business sizes. The word cloud, representing the types of jobs that businesses struggle to fill, further emphasizes the critical need for concerted action to tackle the staffing crisis.
As businesses navigate these challenges, agencies like Rothwell Recruitment stand ready to offer tailored solutions and support to address the staffing needs of businesses across Australia.