MedicalJobsAustralia.com’s Health Workforce Update - May 2024 brings you the latest health and medical job vacancy statistics and workforce trends in Australia.
AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SECTOR: JOB VACANCY SUMMARY
Month-on-month and year-on-year declines: The latest Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) by Jobs and Skills Australia recorded 4% fewer health and medical job advertisements in April 2024 compared to March 2024, and 6% fewer job ads compared to a year ago. Declines were observed across all occupational categories. Detailed information on IVI job ad volumes can be found in Table 1 below. Table 2, further below, provides details on the ANZSCO occupations and occupation categories.
Recruitment activity is decreasing, while vacancy numbers remain historically high: Despite the month-on-month and year-on-year declines, health sector job advertisements and vacancies continue at record levels. Current volumes remain above the 5-year April average (April 2020 – April 2024). This correlates with what is happening in the overall Australian labour market - where nationwide job advertisements have decreased by 3.2% since last month, and 18% since last year. Nevertheless, volumes are still 40% higher than the monthly average for 2019.
Table 1. IVI Job Ad Volumes, April 2024: Month-on-month and year-on-year changes across occupation groups in Australia
Notes Table 1: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report > Data downloads: Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories – April 2024. *More information on our occupation categories can be in Table. 2 ‘ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide’ below.
Table 2. ANZSCO 4-Digit 'Health Sector' Occupation Guide:
Notes Table 2: Created by MedicalJobsAustralia.com using the Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) and ANZSCO 4-digit occupations relevant to the Health and Medical workforce. This shows how occupations are grouped and totalled.
JOB ADS OVER 5-YEARS: MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS; NURSES AND MIDWIVES
Job Advertisements for Medical Practitioners saw the largest declines, falling by -8% over the month, and by - 18% compared to the same time last year. However, they are falling from a phase of peak growth, and volumes still remain at historically high levels. Figure 1. below shows job vacancy growth in the last 5 years (April 2019 – April 2024) for Medical Practitioners, and Nurses and Midwives.
Figure 1. IVI: Australian Health Sector Job Ads in April – 5-year trend
Notes Figure 1: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report/latest release > Data downloads: Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories - April 2024. *More information on our occupation categories can be found in Table. 2 ‘ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide’ above.
JOB ADS OVER 2 YEARS
Figure 2 below tracks job ad volumes over 2 years. Job vacancy volumes have been declining for most health and medical occupation groups since Oct 2023, and the annual growth rate in job ads has slowed since May 2023.
Figure 2. Australian IVI Job Ad Volumes over 2 years (Apr-22 to Apr-24)
Notes Figure 2: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index > Data downloads: Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories - April 2024.
- Health Professionals Total > includes all occupations from the following occupation groups: Medical Practitioners; Nurses and Midwives; Allied Health, Diagnostic and Therapy Professionals; and ‘Health and Welfare Services Managers.’
- WHOLE SECTOR TOTAL > combines the Health Professionals Total (above) plus the following occupation group: Health and Welfare Support Workers, Personal Carers, Technicians and Assistants.
More information on our occupation categories can be in Table. 2 ‘ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide’ above.
WORKFORCE DISTRIBUTION
The current distribution of the health and medical workforce in Australia is shown in Figure 3 below, with Support Workers, Assistants and Technicians making up over 40% the workforce.
Figure 3. The current distribution of the health and medical workforce in Australia (Nov-23)
Notes Figure 3: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release > Data downloads: EQ08 - Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards (Pivot Table). Data reference period: November Qtr. 2023. *Occupation groups consist of multiple ANZSCO 4-digit occupations. These are listed in Table 2. ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide, above.
VACANCY RATES - APRIL 2024
Current health and medical job vacancies make up 0.3% of the total employed in the industry. Job vacancies as a percentage of the current workforce are calculated below in Figure 4, for each occupation category. Medical Practitioners have the highest vacancy rates - currently 3% of the total medical practitioner workforce.
Figure 4. IVI job vacancies (April 2024) in Australia as % of the workforce
Notes Figure 4: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from Internet Vacancy Index > Data downloads: Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories - April 2024. *Occupation groups consist of multiple ANZSCO 4-digit occupations. These are listed above in Table 2. ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide. **Workforce estimate is calculated using https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release > Data downloads: EQ08 - Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards (Pivot Table> Data reference period: November Qtr. 2023.
HEALTH AND MEDICAL JOBS-IN-DEMAND: APRIL 2024
Health Sector Occupations with the highest number of vacancies in Australia (IVI April 2024 - ANZSCO4 Occupations), include:
- Registered Nurses – 8,961 jobs advertised.
- General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers – 2,939 jobs advertised.
- Aged and Disabled Carers – 4,176 jobs advertised.
- Occupational Therapists – 1,780 jobs advertised.
- Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers – 1,928 jobs advertised.
- Social Workers – 1,523 jobs advertised.
Table 3. Occupations experiencing the highest annual growth (year-on-year increase) in job ads (IVI April 2024 vs April 2023, ANZSCO4 Occupations), by Occupation Category.
Notes Table 3: Generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report > Data downloads: Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories – April 2024. *Please refer to Table 2 above for the complete list of ANZSCO Occupations covered in this report.
