Aged care sector witnesses 10% YoY decline in wages, a Jobs Index notes

The Jobs Index indicates that the Aged Care industry has seen significant YoY declines in the number of shifts per business, falling 29% YoY, as COVID-related staffing shortages have eased, leading to a 10% YoY decline in average wages.

Sidekicker, Australia & New Zealand’s leading temporary and casual staffing platform, has released its first Jobs Index to provide valuable insights into the current casual and temporary employment market in Australia.

The Sidekicker Jobs Index analyses data from over 27,000 workers (known as Sidekicks) across 7,000+ businesses from several sectors in Australia, including Hospitality and Events, Aged Care, Warehousing and Logistics, and Customer Service, Administration and Office Support (White Collar).

The Index indicates a 145% growth in job applications per shift in Australia in April compared with the same period in 2022, mainly buoyed by the return of international workers.

Despite Federal Government commentary surrounding wage growth, the Index has seen average wages fall 3% YoY. This is largely driven by Hospitality and Events (-6% YoY) and Aged Care (-10% YoY). Both these industries suffered severe labour shortages in early 2022, and businesses were prepared to pay high wages to meet their needs.

Sidekicker CEO Thomas Amos said that some businesses are starting to feel relief after a pandemic-driven period of extremely difficult labour sourcing.

“We continue to see labour pressures ease with job applications per shift growing 145% YoY. One of the core drivers of easing labour pressures is the return of international workers, with growth in this sector outstripping local registrations. Overall international registrations have grown 160% YoY compared to 70% YoY growth for location registrations.

According to the Federal Department of Education, there were more than 540,000 international students in Australia as of February 2023, a 26% increase from the same period the previous year.

The Index indicated a 15% MoM decline in the number of shifts per business in April, driven by a high number of public holidays and the beginning of a seasonal slowdown as most of Australia enters winter.

As labour shortages continue to ease, the Index sees workers becoming more reliable, improving 35% YoY and 10% MoM.

“We have seen a strong correlation between worker reliability and the job applications per shift; worker reliability improves as the job application to shift ratio increases. Our overall labour trends are consistent with the latest SEEK employment report, which shows overall applications per job and 72% higher YoY,” Amos said.

Ritchelle Drilon

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Ritchelle is a Content Producer for Healthcare Channel, Australia’s premier resource of information for healthcare.

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