Victoria has led the nation in job creation from the time of the state’s second COVID-19 peak, with over 300,000 jobs created since September 2020.
Unemployment is at an historically low level and employment growth is strong, with around 373,000 additional workers needed by 2025 to meet growing demand from new jobs and to replace retiring workers.
Demand for some of these new workers will be met through young people entering the labour market, helping unemployed and underemployed people into work and through skilled migration.
While workforce participation rates for women have improved, they still lag the participation rates of males: women’s participation is 62 per cent and male participation is 72 per cent. Increasing women’s participation can contribute significantly to addressing labour and skills shortages while improving equality.
But a shortfall is likely, particularly if the investment in the supply of skills is not better aligned to industry demand.
Further details about the state of jobs in Victoria is available at www.vic.gov.au/victorian-skills-authority
There are currently 3.5 million Victorians employed across 13 industries.1
| Industry | Number of people employed |
|---|---|
| Administrative and support services | 105,200 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 68,000 |
| Construction | 305,700 |
| Education and Training | 308,900 |
| Health and community services | 515,050 |
| Manufacturing | 260,300 |
| Mining | 15,850 |
| Professional, financial and information services | 628,700 |
| Public administration and safety | 206,600 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 52,250 |
| Service industry | 811,150 |
| Transport and logistics | 183,350 |
| Utilities industry | 48,750 |
373,000 additional workers are needed in Victoria by 2025 to meet growing demand.2
There are 160,000 fewer working age Victorians in 2021 than forecast pre-COVID-19.3
- In February 2022 222,600 people were under-employed4
- Underemployed workers wanted to work an additional 3,031,700 hours
- which is the equivalent to almost 7,000 people.
- In February 2022 there were an estimated 331,200 people not in the labour force who wanted work5
- 195,600 of these people could start work within four weeks
- Unemployment at May 2022: 3.7%.6
References
1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force Survey, February 2022.
2 VSA, Deloitte Access Economics and Nous (2022) and National Skills Commission employment forecasts, VSA and Nous (2022 analysis).
3 Victoria in Future (VIF) 2019 and ABS (2021), Quarterly Population Estimates (ERP).
4 ABS, Labour Force Survey, February 2022, 6202.0 and 6291.0.55.
5 ABS,2022, 6226.0 Participation, Job Search and Mobility, Table 21.1.
6 ABS, Labour Force Survey, May 2022.
Industries are based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). Some industries have been amalgamated as follows:
- Service sector includes: Accommodation and Food Services, Arts and Recreation, Retail, Other Services and Wholesale Trade.
- Professional, financial and information services includes: Financial and Insurance Services, Information, Media and Telecommunications and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services.
Updated