JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Hiring prospects in the Australian mining and construction sector have improved considerably, with the outlook for January to March being the strongest in more than six years.
According to ManpowerGroup’s latest Australian Employment Outlook survey, which canvassed 1 503 employers, the net employment outlook for the sector is 23%.
Hiring intentions are eight percentage points stronger than the previous quarter and improved by a considerable margin of 16 percentage points when compared with the first quarter of 2017, the survey states.
The survey was published on Tuesday, when diversified mining group Rio Tinto also announced that it had 100 employment opportunities available at its bauxite operations in north Queensland.
The employment outlook for the mining and construction sector is the strongest of the seven industry sectors covered in the ManpowerGroup survey. The services sector also anticipates an upbeat hiring pace, with a net employment outlook of 19%, followed by the finance, insurance and real estate sector at 16%.
Overall, 18% of Australia’s employers are forecasting an increase in staffing levels, 5% anticipate a decrease and 74% expects no change, resulting in a net employment outlook for 13%. When adjusted for seasonal variation, the outlook is 14%.
A regional comparison puts New South Wales at the top, with the strongest hiring intentions. The state’s net employment outlook is 21%. Steady job gains are also forecast for Queensland and Tasmania, with outlooks of 15% and 14%, respectively, while the outlooks stand at 13% in both South Australia and Australian Capital Territory. Northern Territory employers reported the weakest regional outlook of 5%.