Regional Labour Markets Update – April 2026

31 May 2026

The Regional Australia Institute (RAI) provides a monthly snapshot of the regional labour market, offering insights into key indicators for job vacancies, labour force size, participation rate, employed population and unemployment rate.  The analysis captures current labour market dynamics and recent historical trends to provide a comprehensive perspective for regional Australia.

Regional Australia is defined as all parts of Australia outside the five metropolitan cities with populations exceeding one million people-Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The report uses datasets from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA).

Regional labour market data for April 2026 shows a softer month for regional employment and labour force participation, alongside a modest rise in the unemployment rate. Despite the monthly easing, the regional labour force remains broadly unchanged from a year earlier, indicating that the longer-term expansion in regional labour supply has largely been maintained.

Regional Job Vacancies

Regional job vacancies advertised online reached 69,731 in April 2026, recording a 5.0% decrease from March. However, job vacancies remained higher than the same period last year, increasing by 4.6% year-on-year. Metropolitan areas also recorded a monthly decline of 3.9% and continued to soften over the year, with vacancies down 0.2% annually. 

Regional Australia Job Vacancies

Source: Jobs and Skills Australia, monthly internet vacancies, RAI

All states and territories recorded monthly declines in regional job vacancies in April. Most states recorded annual growth, although vacancies declined over the year in the ACT and Northern Territory. 

All sub-regions recorded monthly declines. The regions with the smallest monthly declines in jobs vacancies were:

• Darwin (-0.1%)
• Tamworth and North West NSW (-1.1%)
• Dubbo & Western NSW (-1.4%)

The top three occupational categories for regional job vacancies were Professionals (28%), Technicians and Trade Workers (15%) and Clerical and Administrative Workers (12%).  At a more detailed level, the top three most in-demand regional occupations were: Medical Practitioners and Nurses (6,576), Carers and Aides (4,865) and General-Inquiry Clerks, Call Centre Workers, and Receptionists (4,747).

Regional Labour Force

In April, the regional labour force decreased to 5,065,000, down 0.6% from March. Compared with April 2025, the regional labour force was broadly unchanged, while the longer-term trend continues to point to an expanded regional labour market relative to pre-pandemic levels and in line with population growth.

Regional Australia labour force size

Source: ABS Labour Force (detailed), RAI

The table below presents the regional labour force size by state and territory. Queensland has the largest regional labour force with 1,512.3 thousand people, making up 47.8% of the state’s total labour force. Western Australia has proportionally the smallest regional labour force at 18.0%. For Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, the entire jurisdiction is classified as regional Australia. 

Regional Employed Persons

The number of employed people in regional Australia fell to 4,852,000 in April, representing a 0.9% decline from March. While employment remains close to recent high levels, the faster monthly decline in employment relative to the labour force indicates a softening labour market, as reflected in the higher unemployment rate below. 

Regional Australia employed people

Source: ABS Labour Force (detailed), RAI

Regional Australia Participation Rate

The regional labour force participation rate stood at 62.5% in April 2026, down from 63.0% in March. After smoothing out seasonal fluctuations, the annual moving average has eased through recent months, suggesting a weakening in labour force engagement across regional Australia.

Regional Australia Participation Rate

Source: ABS Labour Force (detailed) RAI

Regional Australia Unemployment Rate

The regional unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in April, up 0.3 percentage points from March, as employment fell, leaving more people in the regional labour force looking for work. Unemployment remains low by historical standards, indicating that regional labour markets continue to operate with limited spare capacity.

Regional Australia Unemployment Rate

Source: ABS Labour Force (detailed) RAI

Katanning is located in Western Australia’s Great Southern region, around three hours south-east of Perth. The Shire covers approximately 1,518 square kilometres and has a population of around 4,345 people. Katanning’s economy is shaped by its role as a regional agricultural and service centre, with strengths in sheep and grain production, livestock processing, retail, health care, education and community services.

In the latest available local labour market estimates, Katanning’s labour force participation rate was 63.1%, below regional Western Australia’s average of 65.7%. The local unemployment rate stood at 2.5%, below regional Western Australia’s rate of 3.4%.

Across the broader Goldfields & Southern WA IVI region, which includes Katanning and surrounding areas, 1,875 online job advertisements were posted in April 2026. The top three most in-demand occupation groups for the Goldfields & Southern WA region were Automotive and Engineering Trades Workers (226), General-Inquiry Clerks, Call Centre Workers, and Receptionists (119), and Drivers and Storepersons (114). Compared with regional Australia overall, demand in this region is more concentrated in trades, transport and operational roles, reflecting the importance of agriculture, resources, logistics and regional service industries across southern Western Australia.

Taken together, Katanning reflects a small but strategically important regional labour market. As a service hub for the central Great Southern, the town plays an important role in supporting surrounding agricultural communities, while ongoing demand for trades, drivers and service workers points to the practical workforce needs of the broader region.

Note: 

This report integrates data from two key sources: 

• Job Vacancy Data: Regional job vacancies are sourced from the Internet Vacancy Index (IVI) which is derived from job postings on SEEK, CareerOne and Workforce Australia and provided by Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA). Vacancies are measured using IVI regions. 
• Labour Market Indicators: Labour force size, employed population, unemployment rate and participation rate are sourced from the ABS Labour Force (detailed data) and measured using the ABS Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSAs).

While efforts have been made to align the definition of regional Australia across datasets, differences in geographic boundaries result in minor discrepancies. Users should be aware of these variations when interpreting the data:

• For IVI data, regional Australia includes all IVI regions except Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.
• For ABS labour market indicators, regional Australia is defined as areas outside Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, Greater Brisbane, Greater Adelaide and Greater Perth (GCCSAs).

 1) Regional labor market information is also available using the RAI’s interactive online tool, the Regional Jobs Guide