In the last two years, the Australian economy has been characterized by increased government spending on the public sector, causing a major disparity between public and private market segments. At the same time, despite increased government efforts, unemployment remained tight, averaging 4% in 2024. For a time, the private sector has been showing clear signs of stagnation, but by late 2024, the situation took a slight turn for the better, finally showing a 4.7% increase in job opportunities.
At the same time, regional disparities keep affecting the Australian job market, with Sydney and Melbourne traditionally offering the most employment opportunities. But have there been any notable developments in other Australian locations besides these two hubs? We decided to take a look at our internal database to discover just that. Below is an overview of the most popular Australian cities for work based on actual recruiters’ searches made over the SignalHire database in 2024.
Table of Contents:
TOP-9 Australian Cities for Work
1 Sydney, NSW, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Account Manager, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Assistant to Office Manager
Sydney has always been the major professional hub in Australia – in part thanks to major IT companies, including Atlassian, constantly on the lookout for human talent. However, other segments, including automotive (led by Tesla) and retail, represented by Woolworths Group and Coles Group, are also striving. Notably, Sydney companies are also trying to fill CEO positions, which, according to our previous analytics, ranked second on the list of global in-demand jobs in mid-2024.
In the public sector, the most lucrative career opportunities are in finance, which also makes sense, considering that Sydney is one of the major finance hubs worldwide.
2 Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Information Technology Manager, Account Manager, Speech Pathologist
Even though Victoria has the highest unemployment rate in Australia, its major city, Melbourne, does not lack job opportunities. Here, both public and private sectors are well represented, with plenty of career opportunities in IT, manufacturing, logistics, finance, and healthcare. Some of the major banks, including ANZ Banking Group and National Australia Bank, are based in Melbourne.
In the government-sponsored healthcare sector, currently on the lookout for speech pathologists, the Royal Melbourne Hospital acts as a major employer. Besides, there are multiple career opportunities in IT (Nintendo), telecommunications (Telstra), tech (Toyota Australia), and other industries.
3 Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Account Manager, Environmental Consultant, Business Development Manager
In 2024, the top three occupations in Brisnabe had to do with business development, clearly reflecting the city’s importance as the country’s emerging hub for technology, logistics, education, and tourism. While the demand for account managers shows that the city’s business potential is expanding, an emerging focus on environmental consultants explains the need for sustainable business approaches, especially for high-impact employers such as Virgin Australia, headquartered in the city.
In turn, the need for sustainable practices often requires a brand new generation of business development managers, a position that ranks third on the list of popular recruiting searches in Brisbane.
4 Perth, WA, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Accountant, Dentist, Plastic Surgeon
Perth is Australia’s major industrial hub, with multiple mining, oil, and gas companies, such as Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, and Woodside Energy, headquartered in this city. Many of these corporations, traditionally acting as chief employers in the region, are looking for finance and accounting experts.
Healthcare, actively sponsored by the government, is also on the rise. This, however, does not diminish job opportunities in the private healthcare segments, such as dentistry and plastic surgery.
5 Canberra, ACT, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Business Analyst, Solution Architect, DevOps Engineer
From the public sector perspective, Canberra is predominantly an administrative hub with numerous federal departments and agencies offering employment opportunities. However, it is also a chief IT center, and since our database is primarily used by private recruiters, it’s no wonder tech vacancies ranked so high in the capital.
Canberra Data Centres, Intelledox, Cochlear Limited, QuintessenceLabs, and Datapod all have offices in Canberra, along with dozens of other, less renowned IT companies. More notable employers include Geocon (construction) and Northrop Grumman Australia (aerospace and defense), which are also on the lookout for managers and business analysts to oversee their digital transformation.
6 Adelaide, SA, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Sales Manager, General Manager, Civil Engineer Senior
South Australia plays a major part in the country’s economy. In 2024, Adelaide offered multiple career opportunities in the private sector, especially in retail. Peregrine Corporation alone has over 600 convenience stores in the area, with a total staff of 6,500+ employees. However, other private companies, including Thomas Foods International, are also looking for qualified sales and general managers.
Civil engineering occupations are in high demand in both sectors, with major oil, gas, and mining companies like Santos Limited and Codan Limited actively looking for qualified staff.
7 Gold Coast, QLD, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Welder Fabricator, Account Manager, Infrastructure Manager
In 2024, the Gold Coast economy was largely driven by a construction boom in both residential and commercial sectors. Specialized construction workers, such as welders, as well as account and infrastructure managers, were in high demand on multiple sites, starting with Gold Coast City Marina & Shipyard, which has been operating for over two decades and is now expanding its boat-building capabilities.
The Gold Coast airport, another major employer and a chief infrastructure facility in the area is also expanding – which means more jobs for qualified workers.
8 Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Account Manager, Environmental Consultant, General Manager
Newcastle is one of the major industrial hubs in New South Wales and another top city going through an economic revival. The city hosts many industrial giants, such as Bradken, a global manufacturer and supplier of mining, transport, and other industrial equipment; Comsteel, specializing in steel products, including railway wheels and axles; and Honeysuckle Development Corporation, involved in urban renewal projects.
Considering that today’s construction and manufacturing operations must align with sustainable development plans, the demand for environmental consultants and qualified managers to oversee the operations is expected to grow further.
9 Darwin, NT, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Maintenance and Engineering Manager, CEO, Store Manager
Darwin’s economy has been traditionally associated with mining and tourism. Judging from our recent data, mining is leading the way now, with employers actively looking for engineering managers. However, other managerial positions, including C-level, are also in high demand, which is most likely explained by Darwin’s ever-expanding business landscape, with small and medium companies on the rise.
Some of the most notable employers in the Northern Territories, including Santos, a leading oil and gas producer, as well as an air charter company Hardy Aviation, are expectedly headquartered in Darwin.
Bonus: Smaller Cities with High Hiring Activity
Gladstone, QLD, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Diesel Mechanic, Health and Safety Advisor, Boilermaker
Gladstone, with its roughly 45,000 population, is not exactly an industrial hub, and yet blue-collar jobs in the area are peaking. Besides, the city’s gradual transition to renewable energy sources should soon create new jobs in the area, according to Queensland authorities. The sustainable energy boom is not quite there yet, but job seekers would be wise to consider this destination to reap all the early-bird relocation benefits before the town gets too crowded.
South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Most in-demand professions: Environmental Scientist, Plant Ecologist, Embedded Software Engineer
Administratively, South Brisbane is a small town with a population of under 15,000, but de facto, it is one of Brisbane’s inner districts. Similarly to the larger Brisbane area, the southern part is in need of environmentalists and IT experts, but considering the growth of Queensland construction, education, and healthcare projects, other job opportunities should not be lacking either – especially considering that Brisbane has already ranked third on our list of best Australian cities for job seekers, preceded only by the two unbeatable champions – Sydney and Melbourne.
Methodology
For this analysis, we have pulled all job searches made over our database between November 2023 and October 2024. Then, we filtered all requests made in Australia to isolate cities with the highest number of searches. We’ve presented the results as a list of nine cities, ranking them from high to low. In addition, two smaller cities have shown a recent increase in hiring activity, so we decided to list them in the bonus section. For each city, we added the list of the top three most frequent occupations that popped up in recruiters’ searches.
Notably, this post is based on the results of our internal database, primarily used by recruiters, marketers, and business developers in the private sector. This means it may not fully reflect the hiring situation in Australia, especially when the most popular jobs are concerned. However, it presents a good overview of the current employment opportunities in the private sector – since that’s where most of our users operate.
Conclusion
Despite the uneven distribution of job opportunities and funding disparities between Australian public and private job sectors, the overall employment situation has room for restrained optimism. The private sector, in particular, shows signs of revival after a period of decline. Coupled with increased spending on Australian public sector development, this could lead to a major economic boost in the next few years.
Similarly to most other countries, the most rapidly growing Australian industries in the private sector are IT and retail, whereas government spending is allocated chiefly to healthcare, construction, and sustainable energy initiatives. For a more detailed overview of relevant job opportunities, check our recent post on the ten in-demand jobs in Australia in 2024, and stay tuned for more market updates on our blog.