Will standing up for CQ workers make them sit still?
Snapshot
- Major shortages across the workforce in most sectors
- New Federal Government with a pledge to stand up for Casual Workers
- Vacancies are up again with 714 adverts posted on JobsInCQ.net.au in May, up by 6% from 672 in April
- Largest increase in CQ job ad views and applications include Hospitality and Construction sectors
Does New Government = More Job Security?
As we continue to experience major worker shortages, here in Central Queensland we have one of the largest casual workforces in the Country. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the CQ region is well above the national average.
Casual working is still prevalent in sectors that thrive in Central Queensland, such as Manufacturing, Aged Care, Meat Processing and Hospitality.
The new Labor federal government have said they will “legislate a fair, objective test to determine when a worker can be classified as casual, so people have clearer pathway to permanent work”.
With strong upward pressure on wages, due to rapidly increasing consumer prices and the outlook of interest rate rises, we’re yet to see the impact that government policy and other measures may have on job security and job switching in a highly skills-short market.
Leading Indicator down (updated 24/06/2022)
This month, according to the Dept. of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE), the national monthly Leading Indicator of Employment has fallen for the fourth consecutive month.
It is apparently too early to confirm whether a turning point in cyclical employment is likely, as the Indicator has fallen for fewer than six consecutive months.
Interestingly, the cyclical employment series (derived from a centred six-year trend rate) has been suspended until more certainty emerges in the underlying trend in labour market activity.
So which jobs are receiving most interest?
During the last month, the vacancies with the highest views and applications were in the administration, hospitality, manufacturing and construction sectors.
We have seen an uptake in demand for part-time positions and those where flexibility and lifestyle rosters are a strong feature being offered.
Some of the most popular job searches on the Jobs In CQ site included Apprentice, Operator, Cleaning and Project Manager.
EOFY market trends
Typically the job market sees a general slow-down in recruitment, during the lead up the end of financial year on 30 June. This is a period when businesses take stock of their results, formulate budgets and consider where they need to invest for the next financial season.
However, the current catastrophic skills shortages are expected to see businesses less likely to reduce recruitment activities, apart from those that are feeling the significant pinch of rising prices, impacting capital costs and overheads. This is most testing for businesses with slim margins, that are unable to easily absorb, or pass on, increasing costs to their customers.
On a positive note, we do expect to see some valuable talent come into the market during this period due to the inevitable retrenchments that will occur in some businesses during the financial year anniversary period.
The way forward
There are jobs to be filled across all sectors – opportunities are in abundance, so why are businesses struggling across all sectors to fill their positions? We have been commentating for a while now about the candidate-driven market we are now experiencing, so how can employers attract suitable candidates and hang on to them?
There are many ways to achieve this but the market also needs to start being more creative and inclusive in its efforts. There’s a lot of talk surrounding getting younger people into the jobs market and reducing youth unemployment and this is an important area. The training landscape has many challenges that need to be addressed and this is a medium to long-term solution but there is a vast, well versed and talented pool of more mature and skilled migrant candidates ready and waiting to work.
There is also the ongoing controversial issue of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I).
We have been involved in recent local initiatives to try and support skilled migrants to enter the workforce and we are regularly impressed by the motivation, range of skills and attributes many of candidates from diverse cultural backgrounds possess, yet they are quickly overlooked, far too much, due to their lack of local Australian work experience.
There are many other important qualities to consider from these candidates such as strong work ethic, flexibility, judgement, decision-making, resilience, social/emotional intelligence, digital literacy, the list goes on!
For more information and insights about the local CQ job market and opportunities Register.
