New Interactive Job Vacancy Tool

The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) has developed a new interactive Regional Jobs Vacancy Map that utilises data to help job seekers and decision makers gain a better understanding of the job market across Australia. By utilising data from the monthly Federal Government’s Internet Vacancy Index, which calculates the number new online job advertisements, the tool provides information on the number of job vacancies and their categories.

The online tool highlights that there is a demand for workers in the Northern Inland region, with 544 listed vacancies as of December 2018. Furthermore, it also demonstrates that these jobs are predominantly in professional fields, with over a quarter of the advertised positions. However, as shown in our research for the Skills for the Future report, reliance on online advertising for vacancy statistics can provide an incorrect reflection of actual vacancy numbers. In reality, job vacancy numbers are actually higher as many employers, particularly small businesses, utilise other forms of advertising such as word-of-mouth and newspapers. Despite this, these figures can be a useful guide to analyse trends and identify skill shortages in specific regions.