Regional labour markets are showing signs of improvement, narrowing the gap with major cities over the past three years, according to the latest labour market indicators.
Major cities continue to perform more strongly overall, with more than half of major city SA4s rated strong or above average in June 2026. Stronger conditions were particularly evident across Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.
The narrowing gap reflects a combination of improving regional labour markets and softer conditions in some major cities, including parts of Greater Melbourne. It does not represent a broad-based improvement across all labour markets.
North-eastern New South Wales has recorded signs of improvement, including stronger employment outcomes, better matching of jobseekers with employment and higher vacancy fill rates. Despite these improvements, some labour market challenges remain across the region.
Remote Australia remains the most persistent area of weakness. All remote SA4s were rated poor in June 2026, despite comparatively high job vacancy rates and available job opportunities, highlighting the ongoing difficulty of connecting employers with workers in these areas.
For more insights, read the full results.
