By James Glynn
SYDNEY--Evidence of a rapid tightening of the Australian job market continues to emerge, with 27% of businesses reporting they are having difficulty finding suitable staff, according to a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The most frequently cited reason behind the difficulty in finding staff was a lack of applicants, followed by applicants not having the required skills, international border closures due to Covid-19 and job location.
Businesses reported having difficulty finding suitable hospitality workers, sales staff, engineering and science professionals and drivers. Other in-demand jobs included building trades and business professionals, the ABS said.
The data come as job market indicators continue to point to a hiring surge. Unemployment fell to a pre-Covid level of 5.1% in May on the back of 115,000 new jobs.
The job data, and the strength of GDP growth more broadly, have prompted some banks to bring forward their forecasts for when the Reserve Bank of Australia will begin to raise interest rates into 2022. The RBA's guidance holds that the conditions around wage growth and inflation needed to prompt higher interest rates won't be in place until 2024.
Looking forward, the ABS data showed that 23% of businesses expected to increase staff numbers over the next three months. For those anticipating an increase in staff, 61% expected the additional jobs to be permanent.
Write to James Glynn at james.glynn@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-24-21 0010ET
