Australia has a severe tradie shortage

Last month, Build Skills Australia released a report warning that there are not enough tradespeople to meet Labor’s target of building 240,000 homes per year, which was tracking 65,970 (27%) behind in 2024-25.

According to Build Skills Australia, the building rate per new resident has plummeted, despite the fact that the number of homes built over the last 20 years (174,000 dwellings annually) has been significantly higher than the previous 20 years (145,400 dwellings annually).

This is because Australia’s population has grown at a much faster rate thanks to record net overseas migration.

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.