Job ads data reveals areas looking for new healthcare workers

Healthcare continues its lead as Australia’s biggest employer while community services helps to boost growth in job ads, according data from employment marketplace SEEK.

Overall, job ads were up 16.5 per cent in April compared with 12 months ago, and while every industry experienced positive year-on-year (YoY) growth, mining resources and energy, and community services and development, charted the biggest increases in job ads, at 62 per cent and 49 percent YoY, respectively.

SEEK also found that healthcare experienced 19 per cent increase in April. This was put down to substantial growth in physiotherapy, occupational therapy and rehabilitation, and aged care nursing job ads.

Kendra Banks, managing director of SEEK ANZ, said as one of the sectors driving overall employment growth in Australia, the healthcare industry saw more than 2,000 more new job ads than at the same time last year.

“There are a real variety of roles within both healthcare and community services that are experiencing significant growth thanks to our ageing population, as well as the rise of chronic diseases which require ongoing healthcare management and support,” Banks said.

Banks also attributed the strong growth in community services to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). SEEK said a clear upward trajectory can be seen over the past five years as the scheme has been rolled out across all states and territories.

Rise in regional job ads

While SEEK found that more than two-thirds of new job ads in healthcare are concentrated in the capital cities, it held that overall growth has been fuelled by regional opportunities.

Its data revealed that the share of new job ads in healthcare in areas outside of capital cities has risen from 25 per cent to 32 per cent over the past seven years.

However, Tasmania and the Northern Territory buck this trend – growth in the regional share of healthcare opportunities has steadily decreased as of 2018.

“Victoria leads the way when it comes to the biggest increase in the share of regional healthcare opportunities over the past six years,” Banks said. In 2012, 12 per cent of healthcare job ads in Victoria were in regional areas, while current figures show that this has risen to 22 per cent.

“This reflects a longer-term trend which has seen Victoria tilting the dial in its favour against New South Wales when it comes to the greatest share of new job ads in healthcare,” she said.

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