Seek sees areas exposed to mining industry suffering as city jobs come to the fore
The retreat of mining investment activity has coincided with job opportunities surfacing in some parts of the transport and logistics industry but others took a fearful beating, Seek says.
Recently released ads data from the employment firm shows a lift in job openings for freight and cargo forwarders, up 11 per cent, pickers and packers (4 per cent) and warehousing, storage and distribution staff (3 per cent) between May 2014 and last May.
Among those involved with commercial vehicles, the ‘couriers, drivers and & postal services’ cohort was up 16 per cent, while ‘purchasing, procurement & inventory’ job ads rose 15 per cent.
On the other side of the ledger, fleets and surface transport jobs took a beating, with ‘road transport’ down 22 per cent, ‘rail & maritime transport’ down 27 per cent and fleet management down 33 per cent.
Areas of the industry which are heavily reliant or exposed to mining, such as mining-related transport and manufacturing remain in decline,” Seek managing director of employment Michael Ilczynski says.
“The pull-back in mining investment has had significant impact on the combined Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics industry.
“Areas of the industry which are heavily reliant or exposed to mining, such as mining-related transport and manufacturing remain in decline.
“However, the strength of the New South Wales and Victorian markets, which are less exposed to mining, are creating opportunities within this industry, particularly in transport.”
Tasmania leads the pack with the Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics industry growing 23 per cent year-on-year to May 2015, Seek notes.
This is followed by New South Wales with a strong 19 per cent growth, while Australian Capital Territory is up 8 per cent, and Victoria is up 6 per cent.
Opportunities in Western Australia have declined 23 per cent, Northern Territory down by 20 per cent and Queensland down by 3 per cent.
Of the other sectors doing well, ‘science and technology’ recorded the first year-on-year gain in months, up 9 per cent.
‘Farming’, while relatively small in number, continues to record the strongest year-on-year gains, up 32 per cent, followed by “design and architecture”, up 24 per cent, “which reflects strength in residential construction”.
Among the largest advertising sectors recording strong gains are ‘healthcare and medical’, up 10 per cent year-on-year; ‘information and communication technology’, up 11 per cent year-on-year; and ‘administration and office support’, up 6 per cent year-on-year.