Industries Hiring in Australia to 2035: A Recruiter's Read on Where the Growth Is

Jobs and Skills Australia's own projections give a clear ten-year picture of where hiring will actually happen: total employment is set to grow by 961,000 people over the next 5 years and by nearly 2.0 million over the next 10, reaching 16.6 million employed people by May 2035. The interesting part for recruiters and candidates alike is not the total, but which industries and states carry that growth, and which do not.

The scale of it: almost 2 million more jobs by 2035

Jobs and Skills Australia projects total employment to grow by 961,000 people, or 6.5%, over the next 5 years, and by nearly 2.0 million people, or 13.3%, over the next 10 years, reaching 16.6 million employed people by May 2035. That is the baseline every industry-level figure below sits inside.

Services industries will do most of the hiring

Services-related industries, broadly everything outside Agriculture, forestry and fishing, Mining, Manufacturing and Construction, are projected to account for 84% of employment growth over both the next five and ten years. Within that group, Professional Services is projected to grow much faster than the national average through to May 2035. If your pipeline is weighted toward professional and services roles, this is the trend working in your favour.

Where growth is slower: Retail Trade

Not every industry shares in that growth at the same pace. Retail Trade accounted for 9.2% of total employment in May 2025 and has one of the lowest projected employment growth rates over both the next 5 and 10 years. Recruiters working retail roles should expect a flatter market, not the same hiring intensity as professional services.

Construction: steady, not shrinking

Construction is not a declining industry in this data; it is projected to be the third largest employing industry in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and the second largest in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, by 2035. Technicians and Trades Workers as a group, the second largest occupation major group nationally, are projected to grow by 195,800 (9.8%) over the decade to May 2035.

For the recruiter view of who gets hired in that sector, read our guide to construction jobs in Australia and what employers check first.

State-by-state: the growth is not evenly spread

Jobs and Skills Australia's projections point to relatively strong growth in mining employment in Western Australia, business-oriented sectors in New South Wales and Victoria, public administration in the ACT, and accommodation and tourism-related employment in Queensland. A national industry figure can hide a very different story depending on which state a role is actually based in.

What the live job market shows right now

The Internet Vacancy Index gives a monthly read on how this plays out in real postings. In seasonally adjusted terms, online job advertisements increased by 0.3% (560 ads) in August 2026 to reach 212,400, and were around 25% higher than the monthly average for 2019. The ten-year projections set the direction; the IVI shows whether the market is actually moving that way month to month.

For a closer look at the monthly ad count itself, and how to use its occupation and regional breakdowns when you apply, see our guide to reading the Internet Vacancy Index.

Reading this data as a recruiter or candidate

1. Treat the 84% services-growth figure as a sector-weighting signal, not a sign that every services role is easy to fill or land.
2. Check state-level patterns before assuming a national trend applies to your market: Western Australia's mining growth will not show up the same way in a Victorian business-services search.
3. Use Professional Services' faster-than-average growth to prioritise sourcing effort where demand is structurally rising, not just currently hot.
4. Do not write off Construction or Trades: the industry holds a top-three employment position in every state listed through to 2035.
5. Cross-check the ten-year projection against the current month's Internet Vacancy Index so you are acting on direction and momentum together.

For the roles already live under this picture, browse Accounting & Finance or IT & Technology on the site, including positions such as this Project Analyst role in Perth. If you want the occupation-level shortage detail behind the industry trend, our guide to the Occupation Shortage List breaks down which specific roles employers are struggling to fill today.

Where a role is based also decides its migration status: see which cities and postcodes count as designated regional areas in Australia.

Common mistakes

The first mistake is reading an 84% services-growth figure as proof that any services role is now easy to fill. The projection is about where jobs will be created in aggregate, not about how competitive any single role or candidate pool is.

The second is ignoring the state-level detail. A national industry trend can mask a very different local picture, and Jobs and Skills Australia's own data shows mining, business services, tourism and public administration growing unevenly by state.

The third is treating Retail Trade's slower growth as decline. The data says relative growth is lower, not that the industry is shrinking; it still accounted for 9.2% of total employment in May 2025.

Frequently asked questions

How many new jobs is Australia projected to add by 2035?

Jobs and Skills Australia projects total employment to grow by nearly 2.0 million people (13.3%) over the next 10 years, reaching 16.6 million employed people by May 2035.

Which industries will do most of the hiring?

Services-related industries are projected to account for 84% of employment growth over both the next five and ten years, with Professional Services growing much faster than the national average.

Is Construction a shrinking industry in this data?

No. Construction is projected to remain the third largest employing industry in New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, and the second largest in Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia, by 2035.

Which industry has the slowest projected growth?

Retail Trade, which accounted for 9.2% of total employment in May 2025, has one of the lowest projected employment growth rates over both the next 5 and 10 years.

Does growth look the same in every state?

No. The projections point to relatively strong growth in mining in Western Australia, business-oriented sectors in New South Wales and Victoria, public administration in the ACT, and accommodation and tourism in Queensland.

How can I check whether hiring is actually picking up right now?

The Internet Vacancy Index gives a monthly count of online job ads; it rose 0.3% in August 2026 to 212,400, around 25% above the 2019 monthly average, which is a useful short-term check alongside the ten-year projections.

Key takeaways

• Total employment is projected to grow by nearly 2.0 million people (13.3%) over the next 10 years, reaching 16.6 million by May 2035.
• Services industries will account for 84% of that growth, with Professional Services growing faster than average.
• Construction holds a top-three employment position in every state through to 2035, despite being outside the services group.
• Retail Trade's growth is comparatively slow, though it remains a large share of total employment.
• Growth is uneven by state: mining in Western Australia, business services in New South Wales and Victoria, tourism in Queensland, and public administration in the ACT.

If you want your profile positioned for where this growth is heading rather than just where the current vacancies sit, Talent Tabloid is a place to show that experience to hiring teams directly.