Australia’s construction industry is 141,000 workers short, according to modelling in Master Builders Australia’s Workforce Blueprint, and the builders’ group says the August labour force figures did nothing to close the gap. The Australian Bureau of Statistics counted more than 39,000 jobs created during the month, but Master Builders says the unemployment rate still closed in on a five-year high because the labour force grew faster than employers could absorb.
The figures were released on 24 September 2026 and the industry response came the same day, in a statement from Master Builders Australia built around the association’s own workforce modelling. The monthly Labour Force series is published by the ABS.
A softer jobs market that still can’t fill a site
The odd part, and the part that matters if you’re trying to staff a job, is that a cooling labour market hasn’t made it any easier to find people who can actually start on Monday.
Master Builders Australia Chief Economist Shane Garrett said Australia’s labour force expanded during August, but a disproportionately large share of the new entrants couldn’t find work straight away.
“Even though the labour market has softened, the construction industry is still not able to find enough of the site-ready workers that it needs. The policy framework which governs our sector’s workforce needs to improve so that the flow of new workers to our industry is increased,” Garrett said.
That phrase, site-ready, is doing a lot of work. A jobs number counts people who found employment somewhere. It doesn’t count who can set out a frame, run a conduit, or hold a licence in the state where the job is.
“Without a larger and more productive construction workforce, it will be harder to deliver the homes, infrastructure and commercial projects Australia needs in the years to come,” Garrett said.
“Without a larger and more productive construction workforce, it will be harder to deliver the homes, infrastructure and commercial projects Australia needs in the years to come.”
The number worth writing down
Master Builders Australia’s Workforce Blueprint modelling, released ahead of this month’s data, puts the construction industry 141,000 workers short, with that shortfall forecast to blow out to almost one million by 2035 if nothing changes.
Master Builders says the shortage is already showing up in building costs and project timelines. That’s the bit small builders feel first: not a headline figure, but a fixer who can’t start for six weeks, a frame crew booked out until the new year, and a price that moves because the only crew available knows it.
”Businesses are carrying much of this burden”
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said construction businesses on the ground are doing what they can to bring on the next generation while chasing productivity gains at the same time.
“The challenge is that businesses are carrying much of this burden in increasingly uncertain economic times. That’s why measures such as supporting Group Training Organisations, introducing a payroll tax rebate on apprenticeship wages and reforming Recognition of Prior Learning are so important,” Wawn said.
All three of those asks point at the same pinch point: the cost and risk of putting a first-year on the books. Group Training Organisations employ apprentices themselves and host them out to builders, which shifts the paperwork and the between-jobs risk off a small firm that can’t carry a first-year through a quiet month. A payroll tax rebate on apprentice wages goes at the direct cost. Recognition of Prior Learning is about the bloke who has been swinging a hammer for eight years without a piece of paper, and how long it takes the system to admit he already knows the job.
Wawn’s closing line was aimed squarely at Canberra and at the electorates.
“Australians should call on their local Members of Parliament to act on the nation’s skilled workforce shortage. The sooner we act, the better placed Australia will be to tackle the challenge. The longer action is delayed, the harder and more expensive the solutions will become,” Wawn said.
What it means if you’re the one hiring
For a two-ute outfit, a shortage this size cuts both ways. Work is there and rates hold up, but the labour you need to actually take the work on is the scarce thing, and every week you spend chasing a qualified hand is a week the job sits.
The decision in front of a lot of small builders right now is whether to train the worker you can’t hire. An apprentice signed this summer isn’t productive on their own for years, which is exactly why Master Builders is pushing the cost and risk of that decision onto policy rather than the boss.
Watch the next monthly ABS labour force release for whether the unemployment rate keeps climbing while trade vacancies stay stubborn, and watch whether any of the three Workforce Blueprint asks get picked up in state budgets, where payroll tax is set.
This story is based on a statement issued by Master Builders Australia. Figures on the size of the workforce shortfall are the association’s own modelling.
Frequently asked questions
How big is Australia’s construction worker shortage?
Master Builders Australia’s Workforce Blueprint modelling puts the shortfall at 141,000 workers, with the gap forecast to grow to almost a million by 2035 if nothing changes.
What is Master Builders asking government to do?
It wants support for Group Training Organisations, a payroll tax rebate on apprenticeship wages, and reform of Recognition of Prior Learning.
Why didn’t August’s jobs growth ease the construction shortage?
Master Builders says the labour force grew faster than employers could absorb, and many new entrants weren’t ‘site-ready’ workers with the skills or licences the industry needs.
Sourced from Master Builders Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics. Original article.
