The job outlook in Australia has been looking up recently, with many new jobs being created each day. The unemployment rate remains fairly stable, at 5.39%, although many economists speculate that it will drop in the future.
The job market is looking up in Australia right now, with more jobs being created each day. Employment now totals over 11 million, and an additional 1,100 are being added daily.
Recent economic reports indicate that nearly 40,000 full time jobs were created in the month of April. Additionally, over 4,000 part time jobs were converted to full time jobs. The numbers were similar in March.
The only negative indicator was the slight rise in unemployment over the past month, from 5.35% to 5.39%. Australian economists feel that this slight rise is normal behaviour for the beginning of an improving job market.
The reasoning is that many people accept jobs that they are not satisfied with when employment prospects are low. Then as the job market improves they will begin looking for new jobs. So right now the unemployment rate may be high due to the fact that people feel like they are in a position where they can find a better job.
There hasn’t been a large increase in mining and other resource extraction jobs, which was surprising, given the fact that there has been a recent uptake in resource and energy use. The increasing number of mining jobs is small in comparison in the increases seen in the job market overall. There are many jobs being created in industry sectors such as manufacturing, however.
The largest growing sectors of the employment market are the health care and elderly care industries, due to a growing aging population.
The rate of new job creation has been increasing since December, and above predicted rates.
Each state in Australia has seen unemployment rates below 6% and a steady increase in job creation. Here is a break down of the numbers. The unemployment rate is listed first, followed by the number of new jobs created.
- Western Australia, 4.7%, 15,900 jobs
- Victoria, 5.3%, 23,000 jobs
- Queensland, 5.6%, 26,700 jobs
- South Australia, 5.6%, 3,800 jobs
- New South Wales, 5.8%, 28,500 jobs
- Tasmania, 5.9%, 2,700 jobs
Economic prospects look good for the job market, but economists speculate the effect that this could have on the Reserve Bank interest rate. Some feel like the current trends of the labour market could lead to inflation, which would cause the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates. Others feel that the Reserve Bank will restrain from changing the interest rate until they see the economic impact play out fully and completely.
