Unemployment continues to fall to near record lows across the Western Plains new figures from the federal government figures show.

The latest quarterly results for September 2023 from Jobs and Skills Australia show unemployment has fallen in all local government areas (LGAs) from the year to September 2022.

Warrumbungle (5.0% to 3.2%), Walgett-Lightning Ridge (11.4% to 7.7%) and Coonamble (6.7% to 4.6%) recorded the biggest drops in the September 2022 to 2023 period.

Employers across all industry sectors who have been struggling to fill vacancies will not welcome the news.

Narromine now sits at 2.7%, Nyngan-Warren 3.2% and Gilgandra 3.0% all have the lowest unemployment rates around the region, and all coming in at below the national unemployment rate of 3.6% (down from 4% in September 2022).

Rates in Bourke - Brewarrina fell from 9.9% to 7.3%’.

The Small Areas Labour Market report showed that almost seven in ten LGAs (69.7%) recorded a fall in their unemployment rate over the year to the September quarter 2023, below the 82.0% recorded over the previous year but still high relative to longer-term trends.

Eight in ten LGAs (83.4%) recorded an unemployment rate of less than 5% nationally, while 3.3% of LGAs recorded an unemployment rate of 10% or more.

Figures put together by the McKell Institute shows that from 2016-21 the number of people in the Far West Orana region with a university degree grew by 1.6%, the same with a postgraduate degree also increased.

According to a report by the McKell Institute Regional NSW's skills shortage is far from over.

'Quarterly advertised jobs vacancies will continue to grow through to 2027.

As of Q1 2022, there were over 20,000 quarterly jobs vacancies left unfilled across regional New South Wales; this is forecast to grow to near 25,000 by 2027.'

The institute forecasts the number of job vacancies will actually decrease in the Far West and Orana region over the next three years.

The report says the most common areas of employment vacancies in the region are professionals, trade workers, clerical and administrative workers and community personal service workers.

'In the wake of the pandemic shock, New South Wales’ unemployment levels have fallen to 50-year lows. Prior to the pandemic, the state’s unemployment rate sat consistently around the 5 per cent mark. After rapidly spiking during 2020, the rate fell with near equal rapidity in 2021 and 2022. New South Wales entered 2023 with a record low unemployment rate of just 3.1 per cent,' the report said.