Employers have struggled to recruit truckies and child carers during the past month, with a lack of applicants being the chief reason for the difficulty in finding workers.
The National Skills Commission's latest jobs survey ranked truck drivers and childcare staff as the hardest occupations to fill.
Motor mechanics, managers and retail sales assistants rounded out the top five.
A lack of applicants was the leading source of recruitment headaches, followed by insufficient experience.
The survey - conducted between 11 May and 5 June - found 26 per cent of bosses struggled with recruitment, down from 38 per cent in April.
Retail workers saw the greatest demand, with truckies and child carers ranked second and third respectively.
The survey of 2,400 employers, with a focus on health, social assistance, transport, manufacturing and retail, found 1,932 vacancies.
Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash says Australia is on the right path to economic recovery. Source: AAP
Almost 19 per cent of bosses surveyed were recruiting, with half of positions created because of turnover and one third due to newly created roles.
About 20 per cent were looking for people for both reasons.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the figures showed Australia was on the right path to economic recovery.
"The data shows businesses are starting to hire again, in many industries and at all skill levels, with the highest number of jobs in demand having no requirement for a formal qualification," she said on Friday.
"As restrictions ease, we expect this trend will continue."
The top skills in demand were the ability to operate vehicles, mechanised devices or other equipment, and customer service.
Reliability, work ethic and communication topped employers' list of attributes.
New job ads posted on employment website SEEK have risen dramatically, also indicating business confidence is on the rise.
Posts rose by 60.6 per cent between 25 May and 7 June, compared to rises of 26.8 per cent, 39.7 per cent and 49.2 per cent in the previous three fortnight, SEEK said on Friday.
Ads for workers in the trades and services, healthcare and medical, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, transport and logistics and education and training sectors prompted most of the growth in the fortnight ending 7 June, the website said.
