Australians who are having difficulty finding work may be struggling due to the contents of their resume. According to research by Indeed, a global employment agency, job opportunities only match up with job seekers about half of the time.
The misalignment between employers and employees is likely to harm both parties, with employers unable to find the right fit for the work, and employees unable to find the right work for their skills.
“Businesses may lower expectations for skills or experience, while job seekers might accept positions that fail to fully utilise their skills or education,” Callam Pickering, economist for Indeed Asia-Pacific, said.
According to Mr Pickering, the positions with the biggest difference between job postings and resume shares tended to be the ones with higher education or skills training requirements. The data from Indeed shows that jobs in business development, occupational therapy, and project management were among the most difficult to fill. In contrast, there are more cleaners, sales assistants, and labourers looking for work than there is work available.
Workers within the hospitality and administration sectors will struggle the most to find available positions, while those with a trade will find it much easier. Fitters, forklift operators, and electricians are just a few of the occupations with the fastest growth.
Almost 14 per cent of Australian jobseekers are underutilised, meaning they are unemployed or underemployed, which is the highest recorded rate in history.