Shortages ease but gaps persist in 2025 Occupation Shortage List

The Jobs and Skills Australia 2025 Occupation Shortage List (OSL) is out now. It shows an easing in labour market pressures, with 29% of occupations in shortage, down from 36% in 2023 and 33% in 2024. The improvement reflects more qualified applicants, higher vacancy fill rates, lower recruitment difficulty rates and softer demand.

Despite the pressure easing, shortages remain in key areas. Nearly half of trade roles and two in five professional occupations are still in shortage, particularly in health, education and construction. These gaps are weighing on industries that are also experiencing below-average productivity growth, underscoring the importance of workforce solutions for the wider economy.

The data also highlights the role of diversity. Occupations with gender balance or greater inclusion of women, older workers, First Nations people and people with disability are far less likely to face shortages. In contrast, male-dominated roles, especially in the trades, remain persistently difficult to fill.

We’ve also just released - the Occupation Shortage Drivers (OSD). This report builds on the OSL to help identify the primary cause of shortages. Insights include:

• the leading driver is still insufficient qualified applicants especially in health, teaching and construction
• for some professions, employers report gaps in employability skills and experience, even in qualified candidates, notably in engineering, science and management
• low pay, poor conditions and retention problems drive shortages in care and service roles.

Alongside the OSL and the OSD, other resources are available, including the:

• OSL Key Findings Report showing the results and key indicators that underpin them.
• OSL Additional Insights setting out the implications of shortages and more nuanced labour market insights.

Together, they provide the evidence base to guide Government, industry and training providers to inform targeted solutions to shortages in Australia’s workforce.