The NAB SME insights for the December quarter of 2022 found employers do not expect a material shift in available talent in 2023.
Construction is most impacted by labour shortages with 50 per cent of SMEs still struggling to find labour.
Accommodation & hospitality was most improved and is now among the least impacted.
The report also found that the bargaining power of workers has increased with seven in 10 SMEs increasing pay for existing staff and five in 10 for new staff.
With international borders now open, increased skilled migrant quotas, and improved skilled migration program processes, there has been an easing of shortages in some industries.
Overall, labour shortages were a little less problematic for Australian SMEs during the final quarter of 2022. However, 36 per cent of SMEs continued to identify labour shortages as a ‘very significant’ issue for their business (down slightly from 38 per cent in the previous quarter).
By state, 45 per cent of SMEs in Queensland are still heavily impacted (42 per cent in Q3) — the highest overall by some margin. The number of SMEs experiencing ‘very significant’ labour shortages fell in all other states with the biggest falls in Tasmania (30 per cent from 44 per cent) and Western Australia (37 per cent from 44 per cent) and lowest overall in South Australia (27 per cent). The number of SMEs that think labour shortages will be a ‘very significant’ issue in the next 12 months remained highest in Queensland and lowest in South Australia.
While employers expect skills shortages to continue into 2023, they are more prominent in some key sectors of the economy.
Almost half (48 per cent) of SMEs in construction said labour shortages were very significant (by far the highest of all industries) followed by manufacturing (41 per cent), transport & storage (38 per cent), and retail (36 per cent).
The lowest number was in accommodation & hospitality (26 per cent and down sharply from 37 per cent in the previous quarter).
