National Employment:
Job creation is continuing, but it appears not to be fully keeping pace with the growth in labour supply, resulting in increased unemployment and underemployment.
• Employment: 14.83 million, +1.6% year-on-year
• Unemployment rate: 4.6%, up 0.3 percentage points year-on-year
• Underemployment rate: 6.3%, up 0.4 percentage points year-on-year
• Unemployed people: 713,200, up 8.9% year-on-year
• Hours worked: 2.004 billion, +1.0% year-on-year
Source: ABS Labour Force, August 2026 – August 2026, trend figures
Health Industry employment:
The health care and social assistance workforce continued to expand over the year to June 2026. Filled jobs grew faster than the number of people employed, reflecting the prevalence of multiple-job holding in the sector. Average hours worked per employed person have eased since the June 2023 peak, but remain broadly within the range seen over the longer term. Job vacancies in the health care and social assistance industry were broadly stable, edging down 1.8% over the year.
• Employed people: 2,500.9 thousand in June 2026 (up 1.9% year-on-year)
• Filled jobs: 2,581.8 thousand (up 2.2% year-on-year)
• Average hours worked per employed person: 346.7 hours per quarter (down 0.3% year-on-year)
• Job vacancies (August 2026): 54,300 (down 1.8% year-on-year)
Sources: Labour Account, June 2026 data; Job Vacancies, Australia, August 2026 – Health care and social assistance industry
Recruitment demand across major health occupations:
JSA vacancy data show increased recruitment demand across most medical and nursing occupations in August 2026 compared with a year earlier.
In absolute terms, the largest increases were among GPs and resident medical officers (+1,188 vacancies) and registered nurses (+1,030), while large increases in percentage terms were recorded for surgeons (+107%), midwives (+35%), anaesthetists (+34%) and psychiatrists (+25%). Nurse managers were the only occupation in the group to record a decline (-9%).
Source: Jobs and Skills Australia’s Internet Vacancy Index > data Internet Vacancies, ANZSCO4 Occupations, States and Territories - August 2026
