Fewer Australian employers were recruiting in September 2026 than a year earlier, but those looking for staff were more likely to encounter difficulties, according to the latest Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS).
Almost half of employers (47%) were recruiting in September, down 3 percentage points over the year. However, 45% of recruiting employers reported difficulty finding staff, up 3 percentage points.
Hiring challenges were particularly pronounced for Technicians and Trades Workers. Nearly two-thirds of employers recruiting for these roles (65%) reported difficulty, while 60% said vacancies had remained unfilled for more than a month.
Recruitment activity and hiring difficulties were both higher outside major cities. In Outer Regional, Remote and Very Remote Australia combined, 53% of employers were recruiting, compared with 45% in major cities. Recruitment difficulty was also higher, at 53% compared with 42%.
Inner Regional Australia bucked the national trend, with recruitment activity increasing by 5 percentage points over the year to 52% of employers.
Accommodation and Food services had the highest recruitment rate among the industries shown, with 66% of employers recruiting. The industry also had the highest proportion of employers expecting to increase staff (32%), although this was down 10 percentage points from a year earlier.
Manufacturing and Construction also reported substantial hiring challenges, with 58% of recruiting employers in Manufacturing and 56% in Construction experiencing difficulty.
Looking ahead, more employers expected to increase staff than reduce their workforce over the next three months. Nationally, 19% expected to increase staff, compared with 3% expecting to decrease staff. However, the share expecting to grow their workforce was 4 percentage points lower than a year earlier.
Read the report for more insights.
