Australia’s job market is facing a paradox. Employers across every major sector – from construction to healthcare – report crippling skills shortages.

A key measure of skills shortages, the proportion of advertised vacancies filled, shows 30.3% of surveyed occupations were in shortage in the March quarter.

Yet there are more than two million people – hidden workers – who remain on the fringes of the labour market. They might just be a missing piece in solving Australia’s talent crisis.

This mismatch is more than a numbers problem – it’s a systemic failure to connect the untapped talent with unmet industry demand.

Businesses need to rethink rigid hiring practices, challenge outdated stereotypes and create pathways for those sidelined from work. Policymakers need to build in targeted pathways that connect their skills to shortage areas.

Each month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases official data on the labour force: new jobs created, the unemployment rate and other measures. But these figures don’t tell the whole story.

Collectively, the term hidden workers encompasses:

Using nationally representative data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in........

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