Australia has moved from a jobs slump to the brink of a skills crisis in just six months, according to the December quarter Clarius Skills Index, despite most leading economists predicting spiralling unemployment.
Released today, the Clarius Skills Index, which is the only measure of underlying demand and supply of skilled labour, revealed that skills shortages are again rapidly emerging in key industries.
Chefs remain the occupation with the highest skills shortage indicator, while metal tradespersons recorded the largest quarterly index increase of 2.8%. Building and engineering professionals rose by 1.5% to 100.5.