Who is faring worst in skills shortage?

The skills crisis is worsening as the growth in job vacancies continues amid falling job seeker activity, according to the national SEEK Employment Index.

The index, which measures the ratio of new job ads to job applications, increased sharply in August, by 4.3%. The index has recorded an annual growth rate of 13.5%, its highest since January 2006.

At a regional level, the Index was considerably higher in the resource-rich states of Western Australia (9.8%) and Queensland (4.3%), but skill shortages were also severe in Victoria where the index rose by 4.3%.

The major factor behind the tightening market was a reduction in job seeking activity. The number of applications for job advertisements posted with SEEK fell by 3.5% nationally and 6.6% in Western Australia.

SEEK sales director Joe Powell says the sustained resources boom is imposing further strain on the rest of the economy.

“The initial impact of the resources boom was strong demand for labour in the mining, oil and gas sector, and now that this demand is largely being met, skilled workers from the broader economy are the ones in short supply.