Employers in country Victoria cannot get enough workers as the regions enjoy an unprecedented jobs boom that threatens to leave Melbourne in its wake.
Job opportunities outside the metro area have hit an all-time high with more than 9800 positions vacant outside Melbourne in April, according to data from the federal government’s National Skills Commission , more than twice the number reported in April 2020.
Joe Perry in his Rutherglen Bakery. Credit:Joe Armao
Melbourne remains the state’s undisputed employment powerhouse, with 49,300 jobs advertised in April but experts say country Victoria’s boom will continue to gather pace as the regions’ economic dependence on the state capital decreases.
The state budget papers published earlier this month showed a growing city-country divide amid the pandemic with the regions streaking ahead of Melbourne in employment, property price growth and housing starts. Treasurer Tim Pallas has labelled the non-metro economic performance “amazing”.
The Skills Commission data, collated by the Regional Australia Institute, shows the surging job opportunities in non-metro Victoria were nearly all outside the traditional rural sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Bendigo and the high country had the greatest number of vacancies outside of Melbourne with 3290 jobs available, followed by Geelong and the Surf Coast with 2340 and then Gippsland with 2197.
There were 701 vacancies in Bendigo and the high country for “professionals” – a classification that includes doctors, nurses, vets, business and finance specialists, lawyers and social workers.
The Wimmera and Western region had 988 vacancies in total while Ballarat and Central Highlands had 993.
Regional Australia Institute chief economist Kim Houghton said government infrastructure investment had been a boon for regional Victoria but the closed international borders had cut off a major source of workers.
Dr Houghton said regional employers preferred to hire through word-of-mouth but the labour shortage had forced bosses to advertise.
“They have to throw the net wider because the usual channels of finding workers aren’t working,” Dr Houghton said.
The economist noted the greatest shortages were in skilled trades and the professions but opportunities in TAFE and university training had not kept pace in regional locations.
“We know there are people in the regions looking for work. Can we not do a bit better in fast-tracking them into skilled jobs employers are looking for?”
Harry Perry knows how tough it is to find workers in country Victoria, with his family’s business, Perry Group, looking to hire 15 people for their five retail bakeries, coffee roasting operation and winery in Rutherglen, Albury and Wodonga.
Despite booming trade, Mr Perry told The Age, the struggle to hire workers was putting pressure on the business.
“We have been struggling a great deal,” he said. “Most people I speak to across all sectors are saying the same thing. They’re finding it really difficult.”
Mr Perry said Rutherglen was buzzing after last year’s long lockdown, with more tourists and permanent residents who were discovering the perks of life in regional Victoria.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for those in metropolitan areas who are looking for a change,” he said. “There’s heaps of jobs.”
Veteran Melbourne business consultant Martin Ginnane, who has has been working with local governments around the state on their economic development, told The Age that regional councils had become cannier at attracting people and investment
“Most of them have updated their economic plans since COVID,” Mr Ginnane said.
“They’ve all got a pretty strong strategy for people attraction [and] investment attraction.”
The retail specialist said the regions were becoming more self-contained economically and the days of country Victoria acting simply as a “feeder” for Melbourne were over.
“The days of thinking of regional areas as locations, just sort of being the feeder of the city, for our wants and needs, are very much long gone,” Mr Ginnane said.
“They’re not just revolving around the city anymore and this is only going to get stronger.”
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