ANZSCO 2515-11, 13
Hospital/Retail Pharmacist
Tasmania
March 2015
Current labour market rating
Recruitment difficulty
Previous labour market rating (March 2014)
No shortage
Comments
Recent research indicates employers are experiencing difficulties recruiting for qualified retail
pharmacists with no shortage of hospital pharmacists in Tasmania. Half of all vacancies for retail
pharmacists were unfilled. Employers indicated that either there were not enough qualified retail
pharmacists in the state to fill vacancies or they were unable to offer the more attractive working
conditions and higher salaries offered by larger pharmacy chains. In comparison, all employers of
hospital pharmacists were able to fill their vacancies without difficulty.
Survey results
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Of the retail pharmacist vacancies researched in the lead-up to this report, 50 per cent were filled.
This compares to 100 per cent for all hospital pharmacist vacancies.
Employers of retail pharmacists received an average of 2.8 qualified applicants per vacancy with 2.0
applicants per vacancy considered suitable. While employers of hospital pharmacists received an
average of 4.3 qualified applicants per vacancy with 2.7 applicants per vacancy considered suitable.
Half of all retail pharmacist employers were unable to fill their vacancies. These employers had
either received no applications for their advertised vacancies or had qualified applicants apply who
had taken up jobs with other employers offering higher wages and more attractive working
conditions.
A few employers suggested that there were not enough qualified retail pharmacists in Tasmania and
that they relied on pharmacists relocating to the state.
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Unsuitable applicants
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Unsuitable applicants lacked management experience, failed to adequately address the selection
criteria, displayed poor communication skills or lacked a car licence.
Demand and supply trends
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1
ABS Census data shows that between 2006 and 2011 there was an increase of 52.0 per cent for
Hospital Pharmacists and a 32.6 per cent increase for Retail Pharmacists. 1
Source: ABS 2006 & 2011 Population Census Data, Tasmania
Labour Economics Office Tasmania
Department of Employment
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ABS 2011 Census data shows there were 80 Hospital Pharmacists with 87.5 per cent employed
directly within Hospitals (excluding Psychiatric Hospitals), a further 7.8 per cent were employed
within the Retail industry. 2
ABS 2011 Census data also shows there were 460 Retail Pharmacists with 84.6 per cent employed
directly within the Retail Trade sector, a further 10.8 per cent within Government Administration. 3
The number of domestic pharmacy graduates from the University of Tasmania has increased
steadily over the last five years, from 28 in 2009, to 44 in 2013. 4
2
Source: ABS 2011 Population Census Data, Tasmania
Source: ABS 2011 Population Census Data, Tasmania
4
Source: University of Tasmania, unpublished data.
3
Labour Economics Office Tasmania
Department of Employment