The most popular trades in Australia: Is your role in demand?

Knowing where demand is strongest can give tradies an edge in what is becoming an increasingly competitive market.

BizCover, Australia’s number one online insurance service for small businesses, sought to uncover the most in-demand trades in the country. By analysing Google search data across the 50 largest cities and towns in the country, BizCover identified which trades are the most in-demand by customers.

Which trades are the most searched in your area? Find out what trades are in high demand and where, giving you insight into where to set up shop or expand your business. And for those looking to protect their business, consider taking a look at our insurance for tradies or our other business insurance options.

Key takeaways

• The most in-demand trade in Australia is electrician with a total of 624,540 annual searches.
• This was followed by carpenter (158,970), concreter (157,800), roofer (153,920) and landscaper (105,860) filling out the top five.
• Nowra gets the most mentions in the top 15 as the most in-demand place for carpenters, builders, plasterers, tilers, scaffolders and cleaners. Nowra also pays the best wage for carpenters and landscapers.
• All jobs listed in the top 15 generally require a person to undertake vocational education in addition to an apprenticeship, with the exception of cleaner (11^th place).

Australia’s most in-demand trades

The most in-demand trade in Australia is electrician with 624,540 annual searches. This is far and away the most searched trade across the country, with carpenter coming a distant second with 158,970 searches.

Concreter comes third with 157,800 annual searches, followed by roofer in fourth with 153,920.

Landscaper rounds out the top five most in-demand trades with 105,860 annual searches. In comparison, electrician has more than five times the search volume than landscaper does.

Australia’s hotspots for the top trades

Scaling the keyword search results for population, Traralgon in Victoria has the highest search volume for electricians with 3,957 monthly searches per 100,000 people.

Traralgon pops up again as the most popular place for roofers and concreters, with 1,427 and 1,035 searches respectively.

The most popular spot in Australia for carpenters, the second most in-demand trade in the country, is Nowra in New South Wales. Nowra had 1,471 monthly searches per 100,000 people. Nowra also seems to be a hotspot for multiple trades, with the number one amount of local searches for carpenters, builders, plasterers, tilers, scaffolders and cleaners. It also pays the best hourly rates for carpenters and landscapers.

And for landscapers who want to know where to go, Victor Harbor in South Australia is the place to be, with 1,155 monthly searches.

Top trade hotspots in Australia: Where demand and earnings are highest

Knowing where you can find a steady stream of work is important for tradespeople. But it’s also beneficial to know which areas in Australia are paying the most for these in demand services.

Electrician Hotspots: Where demand is highest in Australia

It’s well-known that Australia currently has a trades skill shortage. And electricians seem to be the most in demand trade in Australia right now, with a massive search volume that trumps the other top 15 trades in our list. There are many reasons that electricians are in demand including a growing focus on renewable energy requiring electricians for installation and maintenance of projects as well as increased construction and infrastructure development.

If you’re a sparky looking for work, then it seems like Victoria is the place to be. Traralgon has the highest search volume in Australia for sparkies and has an average hourly rate of $45.90.

Warragul and Warrnambool also make it into the top five Australian cities where electricians are in demand. In Warragul, about a 45-minute drive west of Traralgon, the search volume is 3,024 per month per 100,000 people. The hourly wage is around $44.61. In Warrnambool, 72km south-west of Melbourne, the search volume is 2,953 per month and the average hourly wage is $46.15.

Nowra and Orange, both in NSW, are also great spots for electricians. Nowra has the second highest search volume in this group, with 3,653 per month and an hourly wage of $46 even. In Orange, the search volume is 3,438 per month and the hourly wage is slightly higher at $46.17.

Carpenters Hotspots: Where demand is highest in Australia

The number one place for chippies looking for work is in Nowra, NSW. The only other NSW city to make the top five is Orange, scraping in with 1,063 monthly searches. However, the wage difference between Nowra and Orange is significant – $45.93 in Nowra and $27.72 in Orange.

Traralgon and Warragul show up again, with monthly search volumes of 1,196 and 1,152, respectively. The hourly wage difference between these two Victorian cities is a little closer, at $40.38 (Traralgon) and $39.25 (Warragul).

Concreters Hotspots: Where demand is highest in Australia

Traralgon has the most searches for concreters and an average hourly wage of $36.56. But we finally have a Queensland contender joining the list: Gladstone, located on the central Queensland coast about one hour’s drive south of Rockhampton. Here, the search volume for concreters is 905 per month and the average wage is a very respectable $48.91 per hour. This puts Gladstone in fourth place in terms of search volume.

Nowra is second for concreters, with a search volume of 1,015 per month. This is followed by Victor Harbor (917) and Orange (850) in fifth place.

Roofers Hotspots: Where demand is highest in Australia

Traralgon again takes out the number one spot in terms of search volume or roofers (1,427) and boasts an average hourly wage of $40.02. It’s followed by Nowra, with a search volume of 1,370 and a slightly higher average hourly wage of $40.11.

Warragul is the only other representative from Victoria when it comes to roofers, with a search volume of 1,288 and an hourly wage of $38.90. Nowra (1,370), Orange (1,015) and the Central Coast (1,146) in NSW also make the top five, but the Central Coast pays the best out of all five cities, with $40.73 per hour for roofers.

Landscapers Hotspots: Where demand is highest in Australia

Victor Harbor, despite its unusual U.S. spelling, is located on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. It is the only city in South Australia to have made the list, but it’s a great place for landscapers looking to score a gig with a search volume of 1,155 and an average hourly rate of $33.90.

Traralgon (1,081), Nowra (964) and Warragul (904) make up the other top four towns, but we also see the picturesque inland NSW town of Bowral rounding out the top five. It has a monthly search volume of 695 and an average hourly wage of $34.65.

Maybe it’s because of their scenic locations that people in Victor Harbor and Bowral are seeking landscapers to help beautify their outdoor spaces.

The best places in Australia for trades to find work: Where and why

Why do regional towns have higher per capita demand for trade compared to the major cities? This demand is driven by several factors, including ageing infrastructure for both homes and public buildings, which require more frequent repairs and upgrades. This means tradies need to travel longer distances for each job which in turn increases the time and resources per job, which can create higher demand relative to the population. These effects are also amplified by the Australian skills shortage.

Traralgon, Warragul and Nowra all seem to be hotbeds for trades looking for work. There are  a number of reasons for these towns making it into the top three highest demand cities in the country for various trades. All three of these towns were founded in the early- to mid-1800s, and there are still many surviving colonial- and federation-style homes in these areas that require upkeep. In addition, all three areas are high-growth population areas, which means more housing and commercial development to support the needs of these towns. In addition to this there are a number of initiatives, like the electrification of the Shoalhaven region (Nowra) which has increased the need for trades people.

Nowra is located on the NSW south coast, just over an hour from Wollongong and is part of the Shoalhaven region.  In addition to property development, there are initiatives like the electrification of the Shoalhaven region which has increased the need for trades people.

Traralgon is the largest city in the Latrobe Valley region, and like Nowra is seeing a growth in general housing development.  Traragon is seeing demand for trades to work on restoration and renovation projects like the transformation of the Traralgon Court House into a community hub.  This is just one project in the LaTrobe Valley aimed at preserving and modernising older buildings for community use.

Warragul is the top place for surveyors, which overall was the 11th most in-demand trade in Australia. It was also one of the top five places for electricians, carpenters, roofers and landscapers.

While it has a slightly smaller population than Traralgon or Nowra, Warragul is also experiencing significant population growth with new construction projects set out to accommodate the increasing population, which contributes to the high demand for trades.

Conclusion

To wrap up, understanding the demand for different trades across Australia can provide valuable, in-depth insights for tradies who are trying to navigate a highly competitive market. This article highlights the most sought-after trades with electricians leading the pack, boasting 624,540 annual searches. Carpenters, concreters, roofers, and landscapers are also in high demand, and all have a specific area in the country where demand is at its peak.

In particular, regions like Nowra and Traralgon are high in demand locations for several trades. Not only do these areas have high search volumes, but also offer reasonably competitive hourly wages. These results highlight the importance of strategic decision-making and opportunities for tradies who are considering establishing a new business or expanding an existing one.

For tradies, having the right business insurance can help offer financial protection if they ever face a claim, so they can focus on what they do best. Check out some of BizCover’s business insurance options that are commonly taken out by tradies and visit our website to get quick, easy insurance quotes on multiple policies.

Methodology

This research analysed Australia’s most in-demand trades using Google search data.

Leveraging Google Keyword Planner, the analysis examined data spanning 12 months, from September 2023 to August 2024, across the 50 most populated Australian cities*. The goal was to identify the country’s most sought-after trades.

A seed set of 165 trades—such as electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, and roofers—was used to generate a comprehensive list of search terms, including phrases like “trade + near me” (e.g. “plumber near me”). This keyword list was then segmented by city, with search volumes retrieved for each of the 50 cities via Google’s platform. BizCover ranked each trade based on search volume.

To provide a more accurate view of demand at a regional level, population data for each city was considered, calculating the number of searches per 100,000 people.

Average hourly wage data from Indeed was also included, offering insights into potential earnings for each trade. The findings provide a clear picture of which trades are in high demand, both nationally and regionally, highlighting key hotspots.

Data is accurate as of August 2024.