Anticipating Future Skills

About Anticipating Future Skills (AFS)

The AFS Series provides ongoing, detailed employment projections for Queensland by:

  • region
  • industry
  • occupation
  • qualification.

It also contains projections for replacement employment by occupation and industry. The projections are based on a combination of:

  • historical workforce trends
  • current employment data
  • economic forecasts.

AFS projections show how jobs are expected to be distributed across industries and occupations under current conditions, with overall growth shaped by population and participation rates.

Industry-level growth projections are a guide only, reflecting point in time inputs, that may not account for future planned activity or changes to the economic or fiscal environment. Given the uncertainty of long-term figures, it is more practical to focus on overall trends and shifts than on exact figures. These trends include:

  • Between 2024-25 and 2028-29 employment in Queensland is projected to increase by 6.2%, more than 185,000 workers.
  • Over the same period, more than 250,000 workers are needed to replace Queenslanders who retire or change jobs.
  • In total, there are more than 430,000 job opportunities expected in Queensland in the near future.
  • The top 10 industries with growing skills needs between 2024-25 to 2028-29 (by number of new workers) are:
    • health care and social assistance
    • public administration and safety
    • education and training
    • professional, science and technical services
    • retail trade
    • accommodation and food services
    • construction
    • transport, postal and warehousing
    • manufacturing
    • other services.

Public administration and safety growth of 11.3% (or 23,800 new workers), includes expansion across all levels of government. Key drivers of public sector expansion include:

  • the expansion of demand for public order, safety, and regulatory services (particularly licensing and inspection)
  • decentralisation of the Australian Public Service (APS) to Brisbane
  • increased employment in local councils
  • defence sector growth.

Data also indicates strong jobs growth across several Queensland regions, with the fastest growth to occur in:

  • Moreton Bay – North (9.3%)
  • Logan – Beaudesert (7.4%)
  • Ipswich (7.4%)
  • Gold Coast (7.0%).

Access AFS data

AFS can be accessed via the Data portal or the Data explorer, with further information available on methodology and other aspects of the AFS series.

For more information or specific queries, contact us at info@jobsqueensland.qld.gov.au.