Taking stock of the latest hotspots in the mining job market, Hays said reliability and mining engineers, shutdown planners and safety planners were in demand in Western Australia.

"WA's market is candidate rich, but this has been nicely balanced by a healthy flow of work across all areas of mining," it said.

"There is certainly more positivity from employers in relation to the next few months.

"At this stage employers are still focused on temporary assignments but with new financial year budgets we may see an increase in permanent vacancy activity."

In Queensland, analysis and improvement engineers and safety professionals, health advisers, operator trainers, pre-strip and production engineers and underground surveyors were the key positions.

"Employers in Queensland are recruiting temporary assignments. They are focusing on local candidates and the number of fly-in, fly-out roles has reduced," Hays said.

"FIFO mines are instead only making key replacements as opposed to creating new roles.

"Residential remote mines are still looking for quality residential workers in various positions and if candidates are prepared to relocate then remote positions are available."

In other parts of the country the outlook is mixed, with a number of mine closures and redundancies in South Australia seeing more workers enter the market.

Cost control, project and reliability engineers, along with pipe welders and rubber liners were seen as some of the key shortages in SA.

"In the Northern Territory, the workforce remains stable. There are still opportunities but candidates based in Darwin are preferred," Hays said.

"Salaries and pay rates remain steady and so do hiring intentions.

"Interstate candidates are not considered due to the rosters on offer. Any interstate candidate interested in vacancies in the NT needs to make their own way to Darwin at their expense."

In Victoria, Hays said the resource market was starting to see an increase in work and a return to positivity.

"The focus remains on contract staff and employers are recruiting both long and short-term assignments," it said.

In addition to the Hays research, Robert Walters released a national survey of more than 1200 managers across key sectors of the economy, including mining and resources.

The survey found 24% of hiring managers were more likely to hire in the next six months compared to the last six months, while 28% were less likely.

It also showed 68% were looking for mid-level professionals.

In terms of remuneration, 27% of hiring managers said wages would increase over the next six months, while 65% said they would stay the same and 8% said they would decrease.