10 Year Edition | Human Resources Job Market Report

A Decade of HR History

10 years of the HR Opportunity Index

To mark ten years of tracking the Australian HR job market, The Next Step is releasing this Special Anniversary Edition of the HR Opportunity Index.

Since October 2015, we've tracked over 520,000 HR job listings across every state, territory, discipline, and employment type. What's inside is the most comprehensive longitudinal picture of the HR profession ever assembled in Australia.

Inside this edition, you'll discover:

• How has the HR job market changed since 2015?
• Which disciplines are thriving - and which have stalled?
• Where in Australia is HR opportunity growing fastest?
• Is permanent or contract HR work winning out?
• What does the next decade hold for HR professionals?

Essential insights for employers and professionals

Whether you're navigating your next career move or building an HR team for the decade ahead, this Anniversary Edition gives you the data to do it with confidence.

The HR Opportunity Index has tracked unbroken monthly data since October 2015 - 125 consecutive months, more than half a million listings, and a complete record of how this profession has grown, been tested, and emerged stronger than ever.

Download the full 10 year Anniversary Edition today

Download the 10-year Anniversary Edition

Australia's HR job market: 10th Anniversary Edition

Ten years ago, there was no authoritative benchmark for the Australian HR job market. The Next Step set out to build one and the result is a dataset unlike anything else in the profession.

As of February 2026, the national HR Opportunity Index stands at 159.1 - 84% above where it started in October 2015, with 5,540 HR roles advertised nationally each month. The decade has seen the index peak at 225.3 in February 2023, crash to a low of 48.6 during the COVID trough of May 2020, and recover by 363% in under three years.

The decade's data tells a clear story of where HR has grown, shifted, and diverged across disciplines, geographies, and employment types.

• By discipline: HR Generalist/Consultant roles lead the decade with 170% growth - while Talent Acquisition has grown just 4%, reflecting the unwinding of tech-era hiring.
• By geography: South Australia recorded the strongest growth of any state (+258%), while NSW - despite hosting 34% of all national listings - has grown the least proportionally among growth states (+27%).
• By employment type: Permanent roles now account for 82% of all HR listings, with the permanent index growing 119% over the decade against just 6% for contract.

The full report includes the complete 10-year market analysis, discipline-by-discipline analysis, state and territory breakdowns, and a year-by-year chronicle of the moments that defined the decade.