finance
Online Radio Growth Reshaping Cairns Job and Talent Market
Digital stations are pulling content creators and technical staff into Cairns while cutting demand for traditional broadcast roles.
How we reported this
Online radio platforms added 87 new positions in Cairns over the past six months, mostly in digital production and audience analytics roles.
The shift matters now because national listenership data released in late June showed online-only stations gaining 28 percent more users in regional Queensland since the start of 2025, pulling advertising dollars away from older AM and FM outlets that still dominate local payrolls.
Local stations and training sites
Stations operating from offices above the Cairns Central shopping centre on McLeod Street have hired six new sound engineers and two podcast hosts this quarter. At the same time, James Cook University’s Cairns campus on Smithfield Road launched a six-week digital audio certificate in April that has already placed 14 graduates into paid work at Trinity Beach-based streaming services.
Employers say the talent pool has changed quickly. The Cairns Chamber of Commerce reported in its May workforce survey that 41 percent of member businesses now list audio editing or social-media content skills as required for entry-level marketing jobs, up from 19 percent two years earlier.
Pay and hiring patterns
Average starting salaries for these new roles sit at $68,000, roughly $7,000 above the 2024 median for junior broadcast technicians in the same postcodes. Job advertisements posted on Seek between March and June listed 22 openings for remote-capable audio producers willing to live in Cairns, compared with only nine similar listings in the same period last year.
Workers relocating from Brisbane and Sydney have taken short-term leases in Edge Hill and Manoora, adding pressure on one-bedroom rents that now average $410 a week. Local recruiters advise candidates to list specific platform experience such as podcast hosting or live-stream mixing rather than general radio work when applying.
Companies expect another round of hiring in September once new advertising contracts are signed, so applicants should update portfolios with measurable audience-growth numbers before then.