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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Natasha May

Unemployment drops in regional Australia but ballooning vacancies forecast bigger issues

Australia Kim Houghton
A man walks past a hand painted hire sign
Experts say lower unemployment figures are a positive for regional Australia but a shallow labour pool is a major disincentive to the growth of new businesses. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Unemployment in regional Australia has dropped below the magic 4% but experts say the outcome is “double-edged”, as surging vacancies amid a shallow labour pool looms as the bigger issue.

Ballooning vacancies are already beginning to constrain development across whole regions and multiple industries beyond farm labour shortages.

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