Australia’s shortage of skilled tradespeople continues to worsen, with the latest survey revealing ongoing shortages across every region and almost every occupation category.

The Housing Industry Association has released the March quarter edition of its HIA Trade Report.

Based on a survey of builders and subcontractors, the report provides a quarterly snapshot of pricing and availability in respect of thirteen trade categories which are commonly used in residential construction.

Overall, the HIA Trade Availability Index deteriorated from -0.47 in the December quarter to -0.62 in the March quarter.

The index ranges from between +2.0 and -2.0. Any reading below 0.0 indicates a shortage of skilled trades.

In terms of specific occupations, shortages were recorded across twelve of the thirteen trade categories (only electrical trades recorded a modest surplus).

The biggest shortages are in bricklaying (-1.36), ceramic tiling (01.03), roofing (-0.93), carpentry (-0.90) and other trades (-0.74).

Meanwhile, shortages are evident across all main regions, with Regional WA (-1.54), Adelaide (-1.33) and Perth (-1.13) being most impacted.

According to the report, the shortage is being driven by several factors.

On the demand side, skilled trade requirements are being driven by strengthening conditions in new home building as well as elevated levels of existing home renovation.

Meanwhile, the supply of skilled tradespeople is being impacted by demand from large-scale infrastructure projects at the same time as low unemployment is making it more difficult for the home building sector to draw labour from other sectors.

HIA Senior Economist Tom Devitt said that the results are concerning.

Devitt warned that the situation is likely to deteriorate further as housing markets continue to strengthen and infrastructure work associated with the Brisbane Olympics gathers momentum.

(Despite recent interest rate rises and the current fuel crisis, Devitt says believes that new housing development will continue to rise on account of population growth and tight rental markets.)

He called on the government to do more to support workforce development and improve access to skilled migration.

“… Combined demand from private housing and public infrastructure is therefore likely to keep (trade and home building) capacity constrained, further reinforcing the need for skilled migration and domestic workforce development, including increased support for apprentices,” Devitt said.

 

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