Australia reached the 1 million job creation milestone in five years as promised by Tony Abbot in 2013.
The number is heartening and commendable. But as usual one has to look beyond the numbers to get the real picture.
The job growth is not a result of concerted political push but rather due to a rise in Australia’s population due to immigration and a progressive economy.
There are more Australians than ever before in employment. So which sectors are seeing a growing demand? The health and education sector, hospitality along with the arts and recreation industry are seeing an upsurge in jobs.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme alone is expected to create 80,000 full-time jobs by 2020, according to the Department of Social Security figures.
The professional service sector like law, architecture, computers, and engineering is also growing. The construction sector is witnessing a boom with 1 in every 10 jobs coming from this industry.
Another thing to note in the jobs market is that part-time work is witnessing great growth with close to one in three workers now being employed part-time. The reasons being the greater flexibility on offer and the nature of the work, which is more service oriented and also more women are a part of the work force.
There is a centralisation of jobs with big cities and states attracting more jobs in industries like finance, telecommunication and entertainment.
Cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Morten Bay South and Brisbane are the fastest growing job markets in Australia. Queensland is witnessing a good job growth rate of average 70 percent in its cities. Graduates passing out from Brisbane can take heart.
Also a centralisation of jobs is seen with bigger states and cities attracting more job in industries like finance, telecommunication and entertainment .
So what jobs will be most in demand in the coming years?
It is predicted that the health care sector will see a demand in aged care, nursing, radiology and dental.
Chris McDonald managing director, Australia and New Zealand for Indeed says, “It’s not surprising when you consider the increasing demand for health services by our ageing Baby Boomers which will require an ever-growing workforce to take care of them.”
Another career finding takers is recruitment consultant.
“At a time when countries are competing for top talent globally to drive innovation and economic growth, highly skilled recruiters who can deliver the right talent at the right time are in high demand,” says McDonald.
“Our data shows that employer demand for recruitment consultants, especially senior ones, outstrips job seeker supply by up to 11 times, the biggest skills gap in the Australian recruitment industry. As a result, 26.5 per cent of these roles remain unfilled after 60 days.”
In Queensland, 72 per cent of the roles are filled within 30 days.