Casual worker talent shortage is easing

While most industries are still reeling from talent shortages, casual and temporary staff levels seem to be on the mend.

Sidekicker’s Jobs Index revealed that casual and temporary worker job applications in April increased by 145 per cent per shift since April 2022.

According to Sidekicker chief executive Thomas Amos, this dramatic increase is being fuelled by an influx of international workers, who are turning the casual and temporary job market around.

“One of the core drivers of easing labour pressures is the return of international workers, with growth in this sector outstripping local registrations. Overall international registrations have grown 160 per cent year on year, compared to 70 per cent year-on-year growth for location registrations,” Mr Amos explained.

“According to the federal Department of Education, there were more than 540,000 international students in Australia as at February 2023, a 26 per cent increase from the same period the previous year.”

Not only are worker levels improving, but Sidekicker revealed that employees are even becoming more reliable. According to the data, workers were 35 per cent more reliable in April than they were at the same time last year. Furthermore, workers were 10 per cent more reliable than in March.

Mr Amos continued: “We have seen a strong correlation between worker reliability and the job applications per shift; worker reliability improves as the job application to shift ratio increases. Our overall labour trends are consistent with the latest SEEK employment report, which shows overall applications per job ad 72 per cent higher year on year.”

This is promising news for businesses that have been dealing with skills and talent shortages for some time now. While April saw a 15 per cent decrease in the number of shifts per business, Mr Amos said this was due to the number of public holidays in the month, as well as a wind down as we approach winter.

Hospitality and events saw the most dramatic decline in shifts per business, falling 32 per cent since March and 41 per cent since April last year. Sidekicker believes that the winter months will only make these figures worse. This has resulted in pay drops, as wages fell 6 per cent since April 2022.

Aged care was the next industry to witness a decline, with shifts falling 29 per cent from the same time last year. A 10 per cent drop in wages was also witnessed. This is reportedly due to post-pandemic staffing levels coming back to normal.

Other industries saw growth, however. Warehousing and logistics, and customer service, administration and office support both saw shifts per business grow by 17 per cent since April 2022.