Publications

Showing 1 - 10 of 72 results

Higher Education Outcomes – Exploring Administrative Data

The Higher Education Outcomes – Exploring Administrative Data Report presents findings on how university graduates transition from study into work and how careers can progress over time. A key feature of this research is its use of linked administrative data, which gives a detailed picture of higher education graduates’ journeys. These insights will be critical in shaping future policy and ensuring Australia’s higher education system continues to meet the needs of both students and the economy. The report marks the start of an ongoing program of work to better understand graduate outcomes and build a stronger, more inclusive higher education system. Insights include: Higher education leads to strong labour market outcomes across a diverse range of careers. Graduates in Mining Engineering, Medical Studies and General Medicine lead in both starting pay and growth with incomes jumping 35% in their first five years Education and Engineering graduates show strong qualification-to-career alignment – 72% of Education graduates became teachers and 60% of Engineering graduates entered professional engineering roles Management, Commerce, and Society and Culture unlock broad career pathways – graduates entered over 70 distinct occupational groups, highlighting strong employment versatility. Postgraduate qualifications can boost earnings – e.g. Business graduates earn a median of $54,800 more annually than their undergraduate counterparts. Read the full report for more details. For questions or assistance, please email: SkillsDataAnalytics@jobsandskills.gov.au.  

November 7, 2025

Purple cover with text - Connecting for impact: Aligning productivity, participation and skills

Jobs and Skills Report 2025

Connecting for impact - The Jobs and Skills Report 2025 The Jobs and Skills Report 2025 – Connecting for Impact: Aligning Productivity, Participation and Skills offers clear, evidence-based insights into Australia’s evolving workforce. The report explores how productivity and participation are shaped by shifting skill demands, technological change, and structural barriers, identifying where better alignment between education, migration and workforce planning can deliver stronger, fairer outcomes. JSA highlights the need to unlock inclusive participation and modernise skills pathways. Key findings include improved employment and income outcomes after partial or full completion of VET training, service industries have driven nearly 90% of employment growth over the past decade, and Gen AI is augmenting, not replacing, work, lifting demand for digital literacy and ‘human’ skills. With growing public engagement and global partnerships, JSA’s insights are shaping national policy and helping Australia build a more inclusive, productive and future-ready workforce. For more information, download the factsheets and the full report below.

November 4, 2025

Australian Labour Market for Migrants - October 2025

The Australian Labour Market for Migrants report provides information on Australian labour market conditions. It is intended to inform people interested in working in Australia on a temporary or permanent basis, and to organisations providing services to migrants and visa applicants. This edition includes a Hot Topic on the labour market for Cyber Security Professionals in Australia, including the workforce profile for the occupation group and its importance to addressing cyber security threats. Key insights: The Australian labour market continues to perform well but there are signs of a softening in the labour market. Trend employment fell over the year to August 2025 in Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade and Mining. The largest employment increases were seen for Professionals, Community and Personal Service Workers, and Technicians and Trades Workers. Australia’s cyber security workforce continues to grow, up by 3,300 people over the past year, with employment growth expected to increase by 14.2% from May 2024 to May 2029. For more information, download the full report. 

October 31, 2025

Foundation Skills Study Administrative Data Report - October 2025

Foundation skills, like strong literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, are essential for workforce participation, lifelong learning, and social inclusion. As Australia adapts to rapid economic and technological change, ensuring equitable access to these foundation skills has never been more critical. The Foundation Skills Study Administrative Data Report offers: early insights into the foundation skills of key priority groups including women, First Nations people, culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people living with disability evidence-based analysis drawn from a wide range of government and education administrative data sources a call to action for improved data collection and inclusive policy development an evidence base to help inform future investment and program design to support diverse communities.

October 30, 2025

Speeding up progress towards gender economic equality

Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA) has released the final paper in its Gender Economic Equality Study. Paper 3, Speeding up progress towards gender economic equality, sets out 10 key next steps to address the deep-rooted policy challenges in the jobs and skills system that perpetuate inequality and impact productivity. Recommendations overview: Deliver a three-year ‘Shifting the Dial on Gender Segregation’ action and evaluation agenda. Introduce early career learning into schools to intervene earlier in gendered study choices Embed gender targets and reporting across future National Skills Agreements. Coordinate national action to reduce gender segregation in VET pathways for shortage occupations. Support First Nation women through a standalone economy-wide plan Accelerate inclusive, safe and respectful workplaces and training settings. Normalise men’s participation in paid and unpaid care work. Adopt the Gender Segregation Intensity Scale (GSIS) to guide and measure progress. Further address gender bias in labour market and skills frameworks. Expand research, data and intersectional analysis to strengthen accountability. For more detail, download the full paper. 

October 29, 2025

Our Gen AI Transition - Final release

The final release of Our Gen AI Transition, on 30 September 2025, has three parts.  The first part contains an additional analysis paper (Analysis Paper F –Workers’ exposure & experiences) to be read in conjunction with the five papers released in Our Gen AI Transition: Analysis Papers on 2 September 2025. This final analysis paper explores how the implications of Gen AI vary across the workforce, including exploring exposure, experiences and perspectives, through cohort and intersectional lenses. The second part (Technical Notes) provides the technical detail of how JSA undertook the key pieces of analysis in the overarching report and analysis papers. The technical notes also provide guidance on interpreting and using the analytical outputs from the Study. Lastly, as part of this 30 September release, we have also updated Our Gen AI Transition: Case Studies to include two additional case studies to the eight released on 2 September 2025. The two additional case studies consider Gen AI experiences and complexities in non-market settings and in leveraging co-design. 

September 30, 2025

Our Gen AI Transition Case Studies

Updated release replacing previous publication from 2 September 2025. This compendium of case studies provides practical insights into how individuals and organisations are navigating the implementation of Generative AI (Gen AI). The case studies highlight the importance of context-specific adoption and adaptation rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.

September 30, 2025

Purple cover with text - International Students Outcomes and Pathways Study - August 2025

International Students Pathways and Outcomes Study Report

Jobs and Skills Australia has released the International Students Pathways and Outcomes Study which analysed the experiences of international student cohorts from 2010-11 and subsequent years to the end of 2023 to track their progress, understand the pathways many students took to remain in Australia and how the groups have changed over time.   This study provides insights into how the education, migration, and employment systems can best work together to enhance the contribution made by international students to Australia’s skilled workforce. 

September 25, 2025

Occupation Shortage Report - June 2025

The Occupation Shortage Report offers analysis on possible shortage pressures in the labour market. Some highlights this quarter: The national vacancy fill rate rose to 70.6%, showing employers are filling jobs more easily. Both metropolitan (72.2%) and regional (65.8%) fill rates improved, narrowing the gap between city and country. Fill rates for Skill Level 3 occupations (55.1%) remain well below other skill levels, despite some improvement over the year. A new Mismatch Index (MI) highlights uneven distribution of applicants and vacancies across occupations. In 2024–25, 30% of applicants would need to switch occupations for a balanced market, down from 33% in 2023–24. Professionals account for more than one-third of the mismatch. A better balance could be achieved if some applicants shifted from Clerical and Administrative roles to Community and Personal Service work. For more insights, download the full report.

September 15, 2025

Education and training divides - Gendered skills, pathways and outcomes

Jobs and Skills Australia has released the second paper in the three-part series on Gender Economic Equality. Paper 2, Education and training divides - Gendered skills, pathways and outcomes, provides insights on education and training divides. It shows that gendered patterns in education and training remain deeply entrenched, with little sign of change that could shift Australia’s occupational gender segregation. Key insights include:  Only 1 in 5 fields of education have a similar number of men and women completing programs and graduating studies, mirroring recent analysis around workforce gender segregation. Gender segregation in education and training make future shifts in occupational segregation unlikely. Men generally achieve stronger economic outcomes than women across most qualifications, including female dominated fields. Women earn less than men and are more likely to leave the workforce, despite equal or higher qualifications. Women are more often employed below their skill level, leaving their qualifications underused. Social and cultural norms continue to shape study choices, career pathways and long-term outcomes. For many more insights, download the full report and explore the Intersectional VET outcomes dashboards across the top 100 VET qualifications.  You can see outcomes by gender, cohort (First Nations, CALD and people with disability) as well as outcomes by gender across the life course for different age groups.

September 10, 2025