‘Transport & Utilities’ joins ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Mining & Construction’ in stronger outlook
They have been lukewarm in some circles for a while but transport and mining employment is showing a lot of life as the two sectors enter the second quarter of the calendar year.
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey Q2 2017 show the pair, parts of the ‘Transport & Utilities’ joins ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘Mining & Construction’ under the workforce company’s measures, outstripping the national Net Employment Outlook (NEO) of +9 per cent, itself unchanged since the previous quarter.
“Employers in all seven industry sectors expect to grow payrolls during Quarter 2 2017 with the strongest Net Employment Outlook of +15 per cent reported in the Services sector,” the report says.
“Elsewhere, employers anticipate steady hiring activity in both the Mining & Construction sector and the Transportation & Utilities sector, with Outlooks of +12 per cent.”
The NEO is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating a decrease in hiring activity from the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in employment.
Seasonal adjustment is then applied to the data.
The Transportation & Utilities figures are for an NEO of 14 points and seasonally adjusted outlook.
“When compared with the previous quarter, hiring prospects improve in four of the seven industry sectors,” the report says.
“Outlooks are four percentage points stronger in three sectors – the Manufacturing sector, the Mining & Construction sector and the Transportation & Utilities sector.”
The NEO for Australia ranks it 20 out of 43 nations surveyed, with Taiwan the highest at +24 per cent and Brazil lowest at -4 per cent. Comparable economy Canada is at +7 per cent.
“While the Australian labour market is relatively stable, businesses across the board are focused on two key hiring considerations – cost reduction and bolstering IT capabilities.
“A surprise lift in GDP figures coupled with the latest round of results reporting showing an uptick in company profits, along with a fall in unemployment from 5.8 per cent to 5.7 per cent may give cause for further optimism if these trends continue,” ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand MD Richard Fischer says.
“Meanwhile, digital transformation is a key priority for both private and public sector organisations, driving a renewed focus on sourcing the right IT talent in what remains a skills-short market.
“The majority of businesses are extremely concerned about whether their organisational workforce has the skills required to keep pace with the Skills Revolution taking place globally as well as the digital advancement currently dominating the Australian market.”