ABS Labour Data a reminder that construction workforce shortfall continues

25 June 2026

Today’s ABS Labour Force data shows Australia’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4 per cent during May, the first decline since late last year.

The new figures also show that labour shortages in the construction industry remain high.

“At the same time as the unemployment dip, 20,000 job vacancies in the construction industry remain unfilled. It’s looked unlikely that the shortage of workers will be resolved anytime soon: earlier this week, we learned that the number of construction apprentices in training had sagged to a 5-year low,” said Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett.

Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn says the Government’s decision to reduce apprenticeship incentive funding in the Federal Budget is a mistake when apprentice numbers remain low and withdrawal rates remain high.

“We don’t have enough apprentices starting out and we aren’t keeping enough of the ones we do have. The Federal Budget revealed that Key Apprenticeship Program funding will be cut by $227 million next year.

“During 2025, 28,290 construction apprentices exited their training early and without any qualifications. This means that the number of people who quit construction apprenticeships last year was higher than those who successfully completed their training

“The Federal Budget cuts funding right when Australia needs more than 300,000 additional infrastructure workers as soon as possible, alongside a further 116,000 housing construction workers.

“All options must be on the table, domestic training initiatives need to be increased alongside a properly targeted skilled migration program to close the workforce gap. New solutions also need to be investigated including BuildSkills’ proposal to raise the tax-free threshold for construction trade apprentices,” said Ms Wawn.

Further policies regarding skilled migration and domestic training can be found here.

Media contact: Dylan Hafey, Media Advisor

0497 330 064 | dylan.hafey@masterbuilders.com.au