New data from the Small Area Labour Market shows the unemployment rate is sitting at 2.7 per cent.

Much lower than the national unemployment rate which currently sits at 5.6 per cent.

At a time when we expect the unemployment rate to be going up, the Orana region has bucked the national trend.

Even when you drill down to local government areas within the wider Orana region, you still have several sitting below three percent.

READ ALSO:

It's great news for employees, especially those with the right skills, but not so great for employers who are looking for someone to fill their role, or job seekers with a particular type of skill.

Currently there are 591 job vacancies listed in the Orana region - with the highest numbers in health, mining and construction.

And while this looks impressive overall, if you are seeking work or looking for a particular person to fit the criteria for one of those jobs then this number doesn't help you.

As a result of the data RDA Orana are suggesting to the federal government that more help should be given to promote career opportunities in the region to people elsewhere who are looking for work.

They are working at devising recommendations to address the critical labour shortage across the region.

Ideas include seeking funding to market the jobs to areas with high unemployment and seeking support for the introduction of incentives which encourage people to move to regional areas.

Up-skilling and re-training residents who need assistance are other areas that also need to be looked out - with many programs and incentives already out there to assist people to move into industries where there is a higher demand for employees.

There's a lot of work to be still done, but this shows we are on the right track.

Do you have something to say? We welcome your letters which may run in print and online.