Login or become a Shortlist subscriber

Unemployment rate stays at 3.5% amid "fierce" battle for talent

The unemployment rate has remained at 3.5% today, but commentary about the figure is obscuring warnings about the impact of acute talent shortages across Australia, says Robert Walters NSW managing director Andrew Hanson.

Low unemployment is of course a good thing, Hanson tells Shortlist, but "we've really got to make sure that we're considering the cost of lost productivity through the lack of human resources".

"We're still seeing severe shortages of essential skills, which is a situation hindering the ability of Australian businesses to grow...