ABS Reports 1.2 Million Australians Without Jobs Wanted Employment

On 28 October 2026, the Australian Bureau of Statistics published its report on barriers and incentives to labour-force participation in 2025–26. It found that approximately 1.2 million people aged 18–75 who did not have paid employment wanted a job, while around 1 million were available to start immediately or within four weeks. The findings highlight opportunities for recruitment agencies, workforce-development providers and HR consultants to improve labour-market participation. HPC can support employers with workforce forecasting, recruitment analytics, skills-gap analysis and employee-planning systems.