MedicalJobsAustralia.com’s monthly Health Workforce Update brings you the latest health and medical job vacancy statistics and labour force insights.
Australian Job Vacancy Summary
The latest Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) saw month-on-month declines in health and medical job ads from November 2023 to December 2023. There were falls across all occupation groups, with Medical Practitioner job ads falling by 12.33%. The decline can be partly due to seasonal trends, which often see lower advertising rates at the end of the year.
Compared to year-ago levels, workforce demand remains robust in the sector, with total health and medical job listings up by 9.6% year-on-year (Dec-22 vs Dec-23). Strong workforce demand continues for Medical Practitioners and some Allied Health, Diagnostic and Therapy Professionals, with job ads for these occupation groups over 20% higher than a year earlier.
However, job listings for Health and Welfare Support Workers, Personal Carers, Assistants and Technicians saw both month-on-month and year-on-year falls, down -7.78% in the year. This is in line with overall annual job market declines in Australia and a slight rise in the unemployment rate.
Compared to the long-term 10-year average, annual job ad growth in December 2023 remains at above-average levels for Medical Practitioner jobs and Allied, Therapy and Diagnostic Health jobs. However, the annual growth rate has slowed since May 2023, and most health and medical occupation groups have seen a decline in job vacancies since Oct 2023.
Chart 1. Current distribution of the health and medical workforce in Australia
Chart 1. 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. Values are cross-checked with the latest AHPRA registrant data (September 2023), and no major discrepancies were observed. More information on occupation groups and data can be found in our ‘ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide’ below.
Chart 2. Current IVI job vacancies as % of the workforce
Chart 2. generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release (Nov-23) and Internet Vacancy Index Report/latest release (Dec-23). *Workforce Estimates are calculated using data download: 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. Values are cross-checked with the latest AHPRA registrant data (September 2023). No major discrepancies were observed. More information on occupation groups and data can be found below.
Table 1. IVI Job Ad Volumes, December 2023: Month-on-month and year-on-year changes across occupation groups
Table 1. generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report/latest release
- Medical Practitioners > combines the following ANZSCO4 occupations: General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers; Anaesthetists; Specialist Physicians; Psychiatrists; Surgeons; and Other Medical Practitioners.
- Nursing and Midwifery > combines the following ANZSCO4 occupations: Midwives; Nurse Educators and Researchers; Nurse Managers; and Registered Nurses.
- Allied, Diagnostic and Therapy > combines the following ANZSC04 occupations: Nutrition Professionals; Medical Imaging Professionals; Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals; Optometrists and Orthoptists; Pharmacists, Other Health Diagnostic and Promotion Professionals; Chiropractors and Osteopaths; Complementary Health Therapists; Dental Practitioners; Occupational Therapists; Physiotherapists; Podiatrists; Audiologists and Speech Pathologists / Therapists; Psychologists; and Medical Laboratory Scientists.
- Support, Assistants, Technicians > combines the following ANZSCO4 occupations: Ambulance Officers and Paramedics; Dental Hygienists; Technicians and Therapists; Diversional Therapists; Enrolled and Mothercraft Nurses; Indigenous Health Workers; Massage Therapists; Welfare Support Workers), ANZSCO 'Personal Carers and Assistants' (including the following ANZSCO4 occupations: Aged and Disabled Carers; Dental Assistants; Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers; Special Care Workers), and the following ‘other’ ANZSCO4 occupations: Medical Technicians; and Personal Care Consultants.
- WHOLE SECTOR TOTAL > combines total values from all the occupation groups above.
More information on our occupation categories can be found below.
Chart 3. IVI Job Ad Volumes year-on-year: Dec-22 to Dec-23
Chart 1. generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report/latest release
- Health Professionals Total > combines the following occupation groups: Medical Practitioners; Nurses and Midwives; and Allied Health, Diagnostic and Therapy Professionals.
- WHOLE SECTOR TOTAL > combines the Health Professionals Total (above) plus the following occupation groups: Health and Welfare Support Workers, Personal Carers, Technicians and Assistants.
More information on our occupation categories can be found below.
Chart 3. IVI: Job Ads – Long-term (10 year) trend
Chart 3. generated by MedicaljobsAustralia.com using data from the Internet Vacancy Index Report/latest release
- Medical Practitioners > combines the following ANZSCO4 occupations: General Practitioners and Resident Medical Officers; Anaesthetists; Specialist Physicians; Psychiatrists; Surgeons; and Other Medical Practitioners.
- Nursing and Midwifery > combines the following ANZSCO4 occupations: Midwives; Nurse Educators and Researchers; Nurse Managers; and Registered Nurses.
Highest health and medical jobs-in-demand, IVI Dec 2023 (ANZSCO4 Occupations):
ANZSCO4 Occupation Guide:
About our methods and limitations:
We closely monitor the Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) - a monthly count of online job advertisements compiled by Jobs and Skills Australia (with contributions from Seek, CareerOne and Workforce Australia).
We look at the latest IVI data by going to https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/internet-vacancy-index > Downloads > Data downloads > ‘Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories – (month/year).
We then look at data values for ANZSCO4 unit occupations relevant to the Health and Medical sector. All occupations and occupation groups (blended categories) that fall within the scope of this report can be found in the ‘Occupation Guide’ above.
Our report calculates the month-on-month % change, the year-on-year % change, and the average % change over long-term periods (eg. 10 years).
Limitations: Please refer to the Internet Vacancy Index for their methods and caveats.
Other data, including AHPRA and ABS Statistics: We monitor data from other reputable sources, and we provide references and links.
Limitations: While we try to use the latest available datasets with consistent reference periods, our report uses data from a variety of sources and so data cycles and reference periods may not always align. However, when this is the case, this is always acknowledged and referenced. AHPRA data does not include data for all occupations, only AHPRA-regulated occupations. Please refer to the source links for their data collection methods and caveats.
Our report aims to provide quality analysis of data to show fluctuations in medical and health sector job advertisements and labour force demand. Our charts and tables aim to give you visual and up-to-date medical and health workforce trends and analysis.
