Australian employment market firm despite job cuts
For years Australian job market reports have revealed an undersupply of skilled labour in many industries. Lincoln Crawley from ManpowerGroup says we should take heart from the fact that there is still growth in the market, and learn to adapt to a different environment.
ManpowerGroup conducts a quarterly survey of 2,500 Australian employers, asking them about their hiring intentions for the coming quarter.
The latest results show that the Australian employment market is holding firm despite high-profile job cut announcements, with the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) remaining steady at +13% for the second quarter of 2012.
This outlook is more subdued than the same time last year, but hopeful nonetheless.
In recent years, we’ve seen a trend of plunging confidence, followed by an upsurge in optimism, then a return to more subdued ‘business as usual’ attitudes. The enthusiasm we saw at the end of the downturn has been tempered since mid-last-year, as the Eurozone crisis and a sluggish US recovery created uncertainty.
In addition, the decline in exports and strong Australian dollar is hurting industrial employers and impacting their ability to hire. All of these factors drag on the labour market. Nonetheless, it’s a positive forecast overall, with almost one in four employers planning to add employees.
With some high-profile companies cutting jobs, and unemployment figures fluctuating, it’s tempting to think the jobs outlook is getting worse. Employees feeling disheartened should remember despite the headlines, plenty of employers are still hiring and skills shortages are continuing to bite.
The conversations we’re having with clients at the moment are around creating talent strategies to bring the right skills into their organisation, maximise productivity and ensure they have a strong talent pipeline for the future.
Performance across the sectors was varied. For the third consecutive quarter, hiring expectations were weakest among employers in the Manufacturing industry sector, at +4%: a decline of two percentage points since last quarter, and 10 percentage points weaker than the same time last year. The Net Employment
Outlook for Wholesale and Retail Trade was almost half the national average, at +7%, although it remained the same as last quarter.
By contrast, employer optimism in the Transportation & Utilities sector grew stronger, jumping seven percentage points to +19%, and making it the only industry to record year-on-year growth. Similarly, the Mining & Construction sector Outlook rose 3 percentage points to +23%. Finance, Insurance & Real Estate Employment was in line with the national average, at +13%, although this was three percentage points weaker than the previous quarter.
These results support the notion that structural changes are occurring in the employment market, where some sectors flourish while others contract. In this context, both employers and jobseekers need to stay flexible and respond accordingly.
Employers in hot industries, who continue to struggle with skills shortages, may need to reassess their job criteria and look for a ‘teachable fit’ – that is, candidates who meet most criteria but need further training in other areas. This is particularly relevant for candidates coming from other industries, who have the fundamental skills but require specific training to fill the gaps.
Job seekers should also take heart from these results – as long as they’re open to changing direction, there are plenty of flourishing industry sectors and job families, especially if they are willing to learn new skills and adapt to a different environment.
Lincoln Crawley is the managing director of Manpower. He joined the company in 1997 in New Zealand, following a successful career in IT and Telecommunications. He made his mark by establishing Manpower’s IT practice in New Zealand which resulted in his promotion to Country Manager the following year. In 2001, Lincoln moved to Australia, where he established Manpower’s successful Managed Services & Recruitment Processing Outsourcing (RPO) business and was subsequently appointed as the Director of Sales. Following a successful two year assignment with Manpower Asia Pacific as the Regional Sales Director and Head of Manpower’s Managed Services business, Lincoln returned to Australia in September 2008 as the Managing Director for Manpower Australia & New Zealand.
