When Adnyamathanha woman Merrissa Waye was looking for a job in retail, she feared her age would be a barrier to getting work.

Even though she is only 42 years old, Ms Waye was concerned potential employees would want to employ younger workers when she applied for customer service jobs.

Ms Waye also had the added worry of looking for work in an untapped market having relocated back to South Australia with her son after spending the last 30 years in Queensland.

"I had previously worked in aged care but I was wanting a career change," Ms Waye said. "I was keen to try something new and be in a workplace where I could meet new people every day. However, I felt my age and lack of experience in retail would make it all too hard.

"Those six months without a job and without a strong social network were tough on my mental health."

Ms Waye is part of a growing trend of First Nations women over 30 who are among the most disadvantaged job seekers, according to Workskil Australia's latest Work Watch report.

The findings by Australia's largest not-for-profit employment services provider found that many First Nations women were struggling to find work despite a critical skills shortage.

Workskil Australia chief executive Nicole Dwyer said the report found First Nations people were still relying on government support even though Australia was experiencing record-low unemployment.

"The workforce gender gap also remains, with women over 30 years of age - both First Nations and non-First Nations - more likely to be on unemployment benefits than men," she said.

"While much is being done to address both these worrying trends, we all still need to do more otherwise disadvantage will be entrenched for generations to come."

Ms Waye has since bucked the trend and landed a customer service job at Bunnings thanks to Workskil Australia.

"When I got the call to say I had the job, it felt like all my stress just melted away," she said.

My team has a few people of similar age to me and a few younger ones as well as people from different cultures.

"Being employed, connected with a group of people and socialising again is a great feeling."

The Work Watch report looked at 50,000 people searching for work, ranging from young to older job seekers, First Nations people, migrants and people with disability.

The March 2023 quarter report found:

• First Nations Australians represented 20 per cent of Workskil Australia's registered job seekers who received unemployment benefits, despite First Nations Australians representing just 3.8 per cent of the nation's population.

• From the age of 30, women (both First Nations and non-First Nations) are 16% more likely to have to rely upon unemployment benefits than men.

• 13.6 per cent of men and 8.9 per cent of women identified as having experienced homelessness and of those making this disclosure, 36 per cent were First Nations Australians. Regardless of gender or cultural identity, those that experience homelessness are less likely to obtain employment, highlighting the importance of addressing housing availability and affordability.