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Mining vacancies lead national job growth

The mining and resources sector led the charge with the greatest growth in job ads — a 37 per cent increase in July compared to the same time last year, SEEK reported.

DFP said that job demand in metal ore mining has more than doubled in under three years. Job opportunities soared a further three per cent, amounting to a very healthy quarterly rise of 10.9 per cent — its highest in nearly five years.

The oil and gas sub-sector followed behind with a consistent recovery, which was evident in its share of national demand rise as of July this year: its share of job vacancies was back up to 29.4 per cent — the highest it’s been since August 2015.

The job area that experienced the highest recovery since the sector showed its first signs of improvement in mid 2016 was riggers and labourers, reported DFP. They hit a new record last month, with a 3.8 per cent jump following a small fall in June.

Drillers, miners and moving plant operators also enjoyed a great month, with demand rising by 4.5 per cent, close to its record level in March. Its rises in June and July have lifted its optimism after substantial fall in April and May, indicating the return of a positive momentum.

DFP said the above professions have seen consistent expansion for several years and growth is likely to continue throughout 2018. Job seekers can feel more confident than they have for some time.

Source: DFP
Source: DFP

Another occupational group that experienced a good month was engineering professionals; job vacancies rose a further 1.9 per cent to generate an impressive 11.6 per cent quarterly rise.

“Engineering hit an all time low in late 2015 when operational management and business support all fell to around the 40 mark. Engineering and business support made steady progress since then,” the report stated.

Overall, there was a good growth in permanent job opportunities – it rose by 1.5 per cent in July and reached its highest level since January 2014. In contrast, temporary and contract market remained steady.

Whilst DFP observed volatility in mining employment in Queensland, Western Australia had a slight decrease of 0.8 per cent in July, following consistent growth over the past year.

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