Employer recruitment activity remained steady over the September quarter 2025, with indicators pointing to continued improvements in hiring conditions and employer sentiment.
The latest REOS Spotlight shows that 50% of employers recruited staff during the September quarter, up 6 percentage points over the year, while recruitment difficulty fell to 42%, down eight points from the same period last year.
These results align with the national trends seen in the September Recruitment Insights Report, which found that recruitment rates are continuing to trend upward while recruitment difficulty is trending down over the past year, reflecting improving employer sentiment across the economy.
Across the states, Queensland recorded the highest recruitment rate (57%), while Western Australia had the highest recruitment difficulty (49%). The Northern Territory stood out with both the highest recruitment rate (69%) and the highest difficulty (57%) of all states and territories.
Employers in Queensland were also most optimistic about the short-term outlook, with 26% expecting to increase staff in the next three months, the highest of all states and territories.
At an industry level, Accommodation and Food Services recorded the highest recruitment rate, coupled with the lowest recruitment difficulty and strong short-term hiring expectations. In contrast, Construction continued to face the highest rate of recruitment difficulty among selected industries.
At an occupational level, employers are finding it easier to fill Technician and Trades Worker positions compared with a year ago, although the recruitment difficulty rate remained higher than in other occupations.
For more insights, read the spotlight.