The most in-demand jobs in NSW (2026 read)

287 occupations are officially in demand in New South Wales — nearly a third of everything the government rates — according to the 2025 Occupation Shortage List from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), released October 2025 and the latest available. Trades are the biggest block: 100 trades occupations are in shortage across the state.

The numbers

From the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, NSW ratings:

• 287 occupations in shortage in NSW out of 916 rated — 265 statewide, 21 in regional NSW specifically, 1 metro-only
• Down from 328 in 2024 — pressure eased, but the market's still tight in the same stubborn places
• By occupation group: 129 professional occupations, 100 trades, 24 community and personal service, 22 machinery operators and drivers, 9 labourer occupations

What's in demand in NSW

The trades, comprehensively. Electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, motor mechanics, diesel mechanics, welders, metal fabricators, airconditioning mechanics, bakers, butchers, hairdressers — the same construction, automotive, metal and food trades in shortage nationally are all rated short in NSW, and most have been for five straight years. Start with Electrician (General) or browse the lot at /occupations.

Health and teaching. Registered nurses across nearly every specialty, midwives, dentists, physios, plus early childhood, primary, secondary and special-needs teachers — all rated in shortage in NSW on the 2025 list.

Jobs in shortage in NSW but not nationally. This is the state's own signature — 15 occupations where NSW's market is tighter than the country's. They include Fire Fighter, Emergency Service Worker, Security Officer, Food Technologist, Plastics Technician, Train Controller, Waste Water or Water Plant Operator, and meat-processing roles (Meat Boner and Slicer, Slaughterer). In regional NSW specifically: Disabilities Services Officer and Family Day Care Worker.

Beyond the trades and hospitals. The demand runs wider than the headline categories. Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, sonographers, radiographers, retail pharmacists, ambulance officers, intensive care paramedics, dental hygienists, aged and disabled carers and child care workers are all rated short in NSW (and, as it happens, in every other state too). So are truck drivers, bus drivers, crane operators, excavator and grader operators and train drivers — the machinery-and-driving lane that rarely makes career-night conversation but shows up year after year in this data.

Regionally: 21 occupations are short specifically in regional NSW, including chefs (rated in regional shortage in NSW on the 2025 list), hospital pharmacists, disabilities services officers and family day care workers.

What a NSW parent can do with this

Three practical moves. First, take your kid's two or three genuine interests to /occupations, filter by NSW, and check each one's rating and five-year trend — five minutes, and the conversation changes from vibes to evidence. Second, if a trade is on the shortlist, ask the school about a school-based apprenticeship: NSW opens SBATs to all Year 10–12 students, so they can test the trade with a real employer without leaving school. Third, weight the streak over the badge — an occupation short since 2021 beats one that arrived this year.

Our read

For a family in NSW, the story is the same one the national data tells, with a local accent: if your kid is drawn to hands-on work, this is the strongest demand signal in the state's economy — 100 trades in shortage isn't a niche, it's a third of the trade workforce. The NSW-only entries add something interesting: service and safety jobs (firefighting, emergency services, security) that don't crack the national list but are genuinely hard to fill here.

What this doesn't tell you

A statewide rating blurs a state of 8 million people. Sydney, Wagga and Broken Hill are different markets; the list only distinguishes metro from regional (21 occupations are rated short in regional NSW specifically — chefs and several nursing roles among them). A shortage rating measures employers' difficulty filling jobs in 2025, not the number of openings and not what you'd be paid. And ratings move: 41 fewer occupations were in shortage in NSW in 2025 than 2024. Check the five-year trend on any occupation's page before betting on one year's badge.

FAQ

What jobs are most in demand in NSW?

By group: trades (100 occupations in shortage on the 2025 list), health professionals (nurses across nearly every specialty, dentists, midwives), and teachers. The distinctly NSW-tight jobs include fire fighters, emergency service workers and security officers — in shortage here but not nationally.

Is NSW's job shortage getting better or worse?

Easing: 287 occupations in shortage in 2025, down from 328 in 2024. That mirrors the national trend. The trades and health categories have stayed persistently short through the easing — those gaps are structural, not cyclical. That last sentence is our read; the counts are JSA's.

What trades are in shortage in NSW?

Around 100 on the 2025 list, spanning construction (carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, glaziers), electrical and plumbing (electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, airconditioning mechanics), automotive (motor mechanics, diesel mechanics, panelbeaters), metal (fitters, welders, fabricators) and food (bakers, butchers, chefs regionally). Full list with filters at /occupations.

How fresh is this data?

It's the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, released October 2025 — the most recent official assessment. The next list is due late 2026.