The Australian jobs market

Paul O’Loughlin

If you have been privy to any of the current recruitment industry commentary you would believe both agency and internal recruitment has been devastated with job losses. A well-known industry source informed me only last week that SEEK had registered upwards of 5000 recruitment consultants as “job seekers” in recent months. This is hard to fathom but given the number of people on Job Seeker and Job Keeper clearly the private sector has suffered immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a far cry from being over. There is not a whole lot of talent being sourced across the country right now, so it is understandable that the recruitment industry has taken a massive hit. September, however, is likely to be a defining month in anyone’s terms as the stimulus packages come to an end, and we attempt to claw our way out of this economic abyss.

What does this mean for the overall jobs market? Well, Australians are naturally optimistic and if history is any guide, as the winter months subside, and summer is staring us once again in the face decisions regarding talent acquisition are likely to pick up. Closed international boarders will, however, have an adverse effect on economic growth so the prospects for any substantial incremental growth in the jobs market will be somewhat dampened. It will gather pace however as we head into the 4th quarter.

One thing is for sure though, and that is much talent will be lost to industry sectors as job seekers take whatever roles they can. The competition for job vacancies will be rife and the reaction from job hunters will be to seize the moment! The jobs market is in for a choppy ride but there will be opportunities for people to re-calibrate and deploy their skills into industries that they would previously have never contemplated. New industries will spring up, our manufacturing sector is going to have “life” injected into it as Australia establishes new supply chains across the globe, a direct result from the global pandemic as it has put a spotlight on our trade relationship with China.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Australians have great resilience and in times of crisis we embrace change and get on with it. Our dependence on government to create “economic sunshine” is probably never greater but the need for large and medium enterprise to step up to the mark has arrived.

The notion of the “lucky country” has taken a hit but things will turn for the better, markets will pick up and prosperity will once again form part of the Australian vernacular.

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