Lightcast is updating its job posting classification to align with the ANZSCO (Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations) 2022 taxonomy. This update involves two major enhancements:

This dual upgrade will improve the accuracy and specificity of our data, while aligning our job postings dataset more closely with government-produced labour market information across Australia and New Zealand.

The updated classification will be live in Data Share products (i.e. Snowflake, APIs, etc.) from June 6th, and reflected in Labour Insight from June 9th.

At Lightcast, we are committed to improving the quality and actionability of our labour market data. The new classification model enables more accurate coding now and allows for more frequent updates going forward as the labour market evolves. Further, the improved classifier better distinguishes between occupations, unlocking more granular and precise insights.

The other part of this update, moving to ANZSCO 2022 unlocks better alignment with government data sources, enabling deeper, more integrated analysis across datasets. While the OSCA (Occupational Skills Classification of Australia) framework is still emerging, ANZSCO remains the current standard for occupational data in Australia and New Zealand. This update ensures that users can conduct analysis within the most up-to-date taxonomy currently available.

As part of this update, all historical job posting records have been reclassified using the new classification methodology and ANZSCO 2022 framework. This ensures internal consistency and supports accurate trend analysis over time.

As this update involves two changes to our ANZSCO classification software, you will see shifts in the occupation-level data. We recommend clients rerun existing analyses to reflect the new structure and benefit from improved classification precision.

A full change report showing specific changes in the data is available here for Australia and available here for New Zealand.

Our new classification model assigns valid ANZSCO codes to a higher percentage of job postings, reducing uncoded entries. This results in greater analytical coverage and better support for research and policy decisions using occupational data.

The new methodology more precisely differentiates between job roles. Previously, many roles were grouped under generic labels such as “Registered Nurses nec”. Now, these postings are more accurately assigned to specific nursing categories, such as Registered Nurse (Medical) or Registered Nurse (Aged Care). This increased specificity results in fewer "nec" (not elsewhere classified) cases, enabling more detailed insights.

Lightcast no longer supports "Not Further Defined" (NFD) codes within the ANZSCO taxonomy. Postings previously classified to these catch-all categories are now mapped to the most specific matching occupations, improving clarity and interpretability.

The 2022 update introduces granular, modern occupational concepts to better reflect today’s labour market. Amongst others these include: Data Analyst (ANZSCO 224114), Data Scientist (ANZSCO 224115), Supply Chain Analyst (ANZSCO 224714), and Regulatory Affairs Manager (ANZSCO 139917).

These new codes support better tracking of fast-growing and emerging sectors, especially in data, logistics, and trades.

A full change report showing specific changes in the data is available here for Australia and available here for New Zealand.

If clients have any questions or would like help interpreting how the classification changes affect specific occupations, please contact us at [email protected]

Our team is happy to provide further clarification or support.