The increase was shared across almost every industry and the sector that experienced the fastest growth in opportunities on SEEK was mining, resources and energy.
The resurgence of this industry over the past 12 months spells positive news, particularly for the mining-rich state of Western Australia.
“The pick-up of production activities by mining companies, especially in WA, after cutbacks over the past few years, is driving job ad growth on SEEK across the mining, resources and energy industry,” says Michael Ilczynski, Managing Director of SEEK Australia and New Zealand.
“While off a low base, this is the eleventh consecutive month the industry has taken top spot for growth in job ads on SEEK, up 54 per cent year-on-year this November.”
Mining digs deep
The average advertised salary for mining, resources and energy in November was $116,682. Not surprisingly, the traditional mining states of WA, Queensland and NSW offered the most job opportunities.
Roles that set the fastest pace in job ad growth across the industry include Mining – Drill & Blast, which saw an increase of 84.4% from January to November compared the same period last year, and mining engineering and maintenance, which experienced a boost of 84.3%.
Ilczynski says employers looking to attract top talent in the industry will benefit from knowing what fuels their employment choices./p> Our latest SEEK Laws of Attraction research has revealed that the top drivers for people to work in the mining, resources and energy industry in Australia are salary and compensation, job security and work-life balance,” he says.
Boost for trades and services
Mining was not the only industry to experience rapid growth in job ads for the year on SEEK. Based on the largest growth and volume of job ads, the trades and services roles of welders and boilermaker, as well as fitters, turners and machinists, came in a close second. The average advertised salaries for these roles in November was $62,380 and $75,713 respectively.
“Increasing infrastructure projects on the eastern seaboard, as well as the turnaround of the mining industry, is helping drive demand for welders and boilermaker and fitters, turners and machinists, resulting in these trades and services roles being among the fastest growing jobs on SEEK for 2017,” says Ilczynski.
“It’s not surprising our SEEK data revealed welders and boilermaker and fitters, turners and machinists were among the fastest growing jobs,” he adds. “These professionals play a fundamental role in helping build infrastructure to cater for our growing population, and to support the maintenance of mining equipment.”
Trends across the states
In November, growth reached impressive double-digit levels across every state except NSW, which still came close to double-digits with an increase of 9.3% year-on-year.
While coming off a low base, Tasmania led the way with a year-on-year boost of 24.9%. “Driving this ad uplift are Tasmania’s top advertising industries - healthcare and medical [up 49% year-on-year] and trades and services [up 93% year-on-year],” says Ilczynski.
In WA, job ads on SEEK rose 22% year-on-year and mining, resources and energy came in first place with 49% growth compared to the same time last year. South Australia also recorded strong growth of 21% year-on-year while Queensland saw an increase of 17.5% compared to the same time in 2016.
“In both states, the trades and services industry was the top advertiser on SEEK, with job ads for the industry up 28% in South Australia and up 35% in Queensland,” says Ilczynski.
The Northern Territory also finished the year on a high with job ads growing by 15.3% year-on-year and the ACT saw a lift of 11.9%. Meanwhile, Victoria experienced a 12.5% boost in job ads on SEEK compared to the same time last year and the information and communications technology industry, along with trades and services, presented the most job opportunities.
In the lead-up the festive season, the Australian labour market had plenty of reasons to celebrate with job ads on SEEK continuing to rise and the mining, resources and energy industry recording the fastest rate of growth. Let’s hope the momentum continues into the New Year.
