KPMG Australia put out some research the other day on “the fastest growing jobs and the ones slowly going extinct” (their words). With all the talk about the accountant shortage, you wouldn’t expect accountants and bookkeepers to be in the Most Common Occupations column yet here they are.
The KPMG analysis looked at numbers of workers from 2014 to 2024 to calculate dying, growing, and stable occupations. Here’s what they had to say about the common occupations:
In 2024, the most common occupational grouping are roles that we encounter in our everyday lives, including Retail Shop Floor workers (793,900), Food Service Workers (356,100), and key workers such as Nurses & Midwives (383,500), Teachers (384,800), and Aged & Disabled Carers (429,400).
“Many of these occupations are undertaking indispensable roles that are integral to our daily lives.” said Rawnsley.
Tech & IT Professionals and Accountants & Bookkeepers are also among the largest occupational groupings highlighting the importance of white-collar workers in the economy.
These trends paint a picture of the evolving Australian job market, reflecting broader economic and societal shifts and the influence of technological advancements on employment patterns.
And those numbers:
Large Employing Occupational Groupings in 2024
| Occupation | Number of workers 2014 | Number of workers 2024 | Additional workers | Growth rate |
| Retail – Shop Floor | 741,000 | 793,900 | 52,900 | 7.1% |
| Tech & IT Professionals | 320,900 | 497,300 | 176,400 | 55.0% |
| Receptionists & Office Clerks | 455,900 | 482,000 | 26,100 | 5.7% |
| Accountants & Bookkeepers | 420,400 | 442,800 | 22,400 | 5.3% |
| Retail – Other | 355,800 | 431,500 | 75,700 | 21.3% |
| Aged & Disabled Care Workers | 216,900 | 429,400 | 212,500 | 98.0% |
| Teachers | 311,400 | 384,800 | 73,400 | 23.6% |
| Nurses & Midwives | 297,200 | 383,500 | 86,300 | 29.0% |
| Food Preparation (Chefs, Cooks & Kitchen Hands) | 288,600 | 363,900 | 75,300 | 26.1% |
| Food Service | 307,600 | 356,100 | 48,500 | 15.8% |
Despite growth of 5.3% from 2014-2024 there is still a shortage of accounting talent in Australia (willing to work for the salaries offered there, that is). The government added accountants and auditors to its Skills in Demand visa list last year, meaning foreigners who meet certain requirements can get a temporary visa to live and work in Australia to fill these jobs.
Relevant posts on r/Australian:
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Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) called the visa news an “advocacy win” and had this to say about it in December 2024:
CA ANZ’s Chief Executive Officer, Ainslie van Onselen, said the hard-fought win follows a year of sustained advocacy and stakeholder consultation.
“This change means Australian businesses will be able to access temporary skilled workers for accounting, audit and finance occupations which are currently in shortage across Australia, and unable to be filled domestically,” Ms van Onselen said.
“We are pleased to see that the migration system will be streamlined through the provision of a single consolidated List, replacing complex, out of date and inflexible occupation lists for the temporary skilled visa program.”
CA ANZ surveyed nearly 450 members at the start of 2024, and more than 80 per cent of respondents said their vacancy fill rates for accountant, auditor and finance manager roles were below 67 per cent.
CA ANZ also surveyed Australia’s six largest professional services firms in May this year, and found hundreds of vacant roles for external auditors, general accountants and management accountants.
Hmm. Why could they be struggling? Just going to leave this here.
@gowokegobrokeaus Tell me how it makes sense #big4 #deloitte #fyp #graduate #work #commentator #corporatelife #corporate ♬ original sound – Go Woke Go Broke
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