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Trends for recruitment and education demands in Victoria and in Australia

The unemployment rate has now peaked and Reserve Bank indicators point to solid employment growth in the coming quarters according to Lorraine Nesbitt, General Manager, Sarina Russo Job Access.

Ms Nesbitt said labour market conditions have begun to improve, with employment increasing in Australia by a robust 174 000 (or 1.6%) between September 2009 and March 2010 alone.

"The unemployment rate has fallen over the period, to currently stand at 5.3%.

"Employment growth in Victoria over the five years to February 2010 rose by 11.5% (or 283 200) slightly stronger growth than the national average of 10.9%.

"Victoria has Australia's second largest workforce with more than 2.7 million workers.

The largest employing industries in Victoria are Manufacturing (302 200), Health Care and Social Assistance (296 900) and Retail Trade (296 300) which together employ one third of workers in the state.

Victoria has a relatively high proportion of Australia's Manufacturing employment, more than 30%, compared with its share of total employment (25%).

Health Care and Social Assistance added the largest number of jobs (48 400), followed by Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (43 100) and Construction (38 600). The largest fall was recorded in Manufacturing (29 200).

Around 38% of workers are aged 45 years or older and 17% are younger than 25 years. Around 46% of Victorian workers are female. About three in ten workers are employed part-time. Victoria's workforce is relatively highly concentrated. Melbourne has around three quarters of the state's employment, Ms Nesbitt said.

Ms Sarina Russo, General Manager, Sarina Russo said higher educational attainment levels had become more important in Australia as a result of the global downturn and softer labour market.

"People with lower levels of education have fewer options and find it more difficult to find a job than those with highly qualifications.

"Young jobseekers with limited education and training also have greater difficulty getting an initial foothold in the jobs market.

John Slater, CEO Sarina Russo Institute - Skills for Industry said there is plenty of evidence levels of education have a significant effect on your chances of getting a job.

Mr Slater said an ABS Education and Work survey shows workers with either a university or vocational education and training qualifications have lower unemployment rates than workers who do not hold post-school qualifications.

"The unemployment rate for workers who finished school with Year 10 as their highest qualification was 10.4%, compared with 7.1% for people who completed Year 12, 4.3% for those with Certificate III/IV qualifications and 3.4% for people who completed a Bachelor degree.

"While the labour market slowed in 2009 and graduates faced more difficulty gaining employment, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations projections show employment growth over the next five years is expected to be strong and job prospects are good for most professions.

Ms Nesbitt said there has been a marked increase in the proportion of people participating in education.

"Employers are now looking to fill their jobs with highly trained, IT savvy, well educated employees who are flexible, adaptable and have a can-do attitude.

"Strong mid-level administrators are in demand who have solid experience and advanced computer skills," Ms Nesbitt said.

Ms Russo said some interesting employment statistics were released in the latest ABS Labour Force Survey:

  • More than one in every five workers in Australia is employed in Health Care and Social Assistance (the largest employing industry) or in Retail Trade
  • The largest occupation is general sales assistant which employs almost half a million people (495 200)
  • There are 212 800 registered nurses, 168 300 truck drivers and 102 400 chefs/cooks but only 6200 dieticians
  • There are more than twice as many employed persons aged 45 years or older than younger than 25 years
  • Almost four in every ten workers (37%) are employed outside state capital cities
  • Almost two in every five workers have not completed formal training since leaving school
  • More than one million Australians are studying at the tertiary level, with almost 772 000 domestic students enrolled in higher education in 2008 and 425 500 apprentices and trainees in training at 30 September 2009
  • About 70% of workers are employed full-time, and 64% of higher education students and 76% of apprentices and trainees were studying full-time in 2008
  • Over the past 30 years Australia's employment has increased by more than 75%. Since February 1980, the number of people employed in Australia has grown from 6.2 million to 11.0 million
  • Females make up 46% of workers, almost 60% of domestic higher education students and one third of apprentices and trainees.
  • Facts and figures sourced from 'Australian Jobs 2010 released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

* Facts and figures sourced from 'Australian Jobs 2010 released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace relations