Job growth is expected to improve despite report of an economic slow down, the MyCareer employment forecast predicts.
The forecast expects 137,000 jobs to be added to the Australian market by August 2013. This is in comparison to only 58,000 jobs that were added in the previous year to August 2012, indicating the long-term outlook may not be as bleak as we are being led to believe.
According to the bi-annual report, almost every State and industry is forecast to see a modest jobs growth in the next year: while SA remains flat WA will continue to be the standout with a strong 2.5 per cent jobs growth expected.
“There’s a lot of business uncertainty after recent reports about the slow-down in China’s economy and the Mining industry, and the rise of national unemployment figures but the overall outlook is quite encouraging as the economy continues to stabilise,” says Michael Emerson, from Economic and Market Development Advisors (EMDA).
“Losses of jobs in the next year will primarily be as a result of public sector job cuts and the strength of the Aussie dollar, which will send more of our manufacturing jobs overseas.”
The retail sector is expected to see a slight growth in jobs of 0.6 per cent in the year to May 2013, reflecting the shift by householders to save more of their income and pay off debts quicker. Clothing sales are still falling -0.5 per cent while spending at cafes and restaurants are up 4.6 per cent.
“This latest forecast provides key insights for businesses in planning for the next 12 months. While the outlook varies from industry to industry and state to state there is overall positive news that the numbers of jobs being created in the next 12 months will be more than the past year. In that business environment recruiting the best people will remain a key priority for all companies,” said Paul Kitchin, General Manager of MyCareer.