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

265 occupations are officially in demand in Tasmania — 242 in shortage statewide, 22 in regional Tasmania specifically, one metro-only — according to the 2025 Occupation Shortage List from Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), released October 2025 and the latest available. That's the lowest count of the six states, but the shape is familiar: 92 trades occupations are short, along with the health and teaching core.

The numbers

From the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, Tasmania ratings:

• 265 occupations in shortage out of 916 rated — down from 298 in 2024
• By group: 122 professional occupations, 92 trades, 19 community and personal service, 20 machinery operators and drivers
• 22 occupations short in regional Tasmania specifically
• Only 4 occupations are in shortage in Tasmania but not nationally — Tasmania's list hews closest to the national picture of any state

What's in demand in Tasmania

Trades — 92 occupations. The national core holds: electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, painters, tilers, motor mechanics, diesel mechanics, fitters, welders, metal fabricators, airconditioning mechanics, bakers, butchers, hairdressers, cabinet makers. Most have held their Tasmanian shortage rating for five straight years. Browse them with the Tasmania filter at /occupations.

Health and teaching. Registered nurses across the specialties, midwives, dentists, sonographers and allied health, plus teachers from early childhood through special education — all rated short in Tasmania on the 2025 list.

Tasmania's own four. In shortage here but not nationally: Materials Engineer, Motor Vehicle Parts Interpreter, and — specifically in regional Tasmania — Cafe or Restaurant Manager and Retail Manager. Our read: outside Hobart and Launceston, it's the people who run the shops and eateries that are hardest to find, which tracks for a state whose regional economy leans on tourism and hospitality.

The wider bench. Tasmania is also short of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, radiographers, retail pharmacists, ambulance officers, intensive care paramedics, aged and disabled carers and child care workers — every one of them short in all eight jurisdictions, so a Tasmanian who qualifies holds a ticket that works on the mainland too. Likewise the driving and machinery lane: truck drivers, bus drivers, crane operators, excavator and grader operators and train drivers all carry Tasmanian shortage ratings.

What a Tasmanian parent can do with this

Take your kid's genuine interests to /occupations, filter by Tasmania, and check each rating and its five-year trend. If a trade makes the list, ask the school about a school-based apprenticeship — Tasmania runs them like every state, so a Year 10–12 student can earn award wages while training counts toward their certificate. And treat the travels-anywhere angle as a feature: in a small market, a qualification that's also short in every other state is the best of both — demand at home, options everywhere else.

Our read

Tasmania's list is smaller but not softer. The trades core is nearly as deep as the mainland's (92 occupations versus NSW's 100, in a far smaller economy), and the health and teaching gaps are identical. For a Tasmanian teenager, the practical takeaway is the same as anywhere in the country — an apprenticeship in construction, electrical, plumbing or automotive work points at sustained, documented demand — with the local bonus that hospitality management is a genuine regional gap for anyone who'd rather run a kitchen than wire a house.

What this doesn't tell you

One statewide rating covers Hobart, Burnie and the west coast; only the regional/metro split narrows it. Shortage ratings measure hiring difficulty in 2025, not job volume — and Tasmania's smaller labour market means individual occupations can have few openings even when rated short. That cuts both ways: fewer jobs, but far fewer competitors. Five-year trends are on every occupation page.

FAQ

What jobs are most in demand in Tasmania?

Trades (92 occupations in shortage on the 2025 list — construction, electrical, plumbing, automotive, metal and food trades), registered nurses and other health professionals, and teachers. Regionally: cafe/restaurant managers and retail managers are short outside the cities.

Is it easy to get a trade job in Tasmania?

The demand side looks strong — 92 trades occupations rated in shortage, most for five straight years. What the data can't tell you is the volume of openings in a small market, or whether a specific employer near you is hiring apprentices this year. Demand rating ≠ job guarantee.

What's unusual about Tasmania's shortage list?

How ordinary it is — only four occupations differ from the national picture, the fewest of any state. Tasmania's gaps are Australia's gaps: trades, health, teaching — plus regional hospitality and retail management.

How current is this data?

It's the 2025 Occupation Shortage List, released October 2025 by Jobs and Skills Australia — the latest available. The next list is due late 2026.