ClaireLo1980

Hi all

Hoping to arrive in Perth in December. I have a 190 visa.

I have recently heard a lot of worrying stories about the lack of job opportunities in Perth due to the recession. How bad are things?

My profession would be Program / Project Administrator.

Would be good to hear your experiences, good or bad.

Thanks
Claire.

chris955

Perth is being hit by the mining downturn and the general downturn in the WA economy and unemployment is rising. Like anywhere there is still work but clearly nowhere near as easy to find as it was.

msmyrtle

December is not a great time to look for work... right in the middle of the silly season where most people with hiring power are away on leave, thinking about holidays, etc. From around November - January things slow right down.

spouse of scouse

Hi Claire, although this story begins by focusing on jobs in the mining industry, it has some stats that may be of interest.

Today, The West Australian has followed up with a story of an experienced immigrant from Ireland who is offering to pay thousands of dollars in cash and incentives to anyone that can land him a mining job:


Labourer Patrick Johnston, 28, has placed an online advertisement offering $5000 as well as his 1994 Ford Falcon valued at $1500, to anyone who can get him an entry-level mine job.

The university graduate, who recently moved to WA from Ireland, said it was rumoured that applicants had to know someone involved in mine recruitment to be considered for a position.

Mr Johnston said some recruiters had told him that personal contacts were more important than his extensive worksite experience and safety training…

“I’ve come to WA because it’s one of the only places in the world that is not in a recession,” he said…

Mr Johnston’s advert is one of several similar Gumtree adverts, with other cash incentives ranging from $1000 to $4000 in return for help securing a mining job, which mostly pay six-figure salaries.

The incentives appear a sign of desperate times, with an extra 21,000 people in WA joining job queues in the year to May, increasing the State’s unemployment rate from 3.5 to 5.2 per cent…

While Mark the Graph today showed that Western Australia was probably not yet in recession, it is clearly slowing as the mining investment boom unwinds. And with the state’s population growing by around 1,500 people a week, Western Australia is not generating enough jobs to soak-up the excess labour, resulting in a significant increase in the state’s unemployment rate.

With risks clearly skewed to the downside, the Western Australian economy (and unemployment, in particular) is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Alfresco

Yep, right up until the end of Jan too!

lloydk

It is quite the situation, and I'm at the shit end of the stick. It'll make 9 months that I've been here and I'm just not able to secure an interview (261312 Developer Programmer). Recruiters say, "you've an impressive resume", "you've got excellent communication skills" and then proceed to say "don't take it personally, but there are large amounts of people with local IT experience that are currently looking out for projects". Another statement that is sickening to hear is the lack of local/Australian experience. It is a ridiculous statement and there should be a law that prevents employers from using this.

I'm one of those migrants that's considering going back. In fact, I've already gotten interviews for jobs outside Australia. I'm not surprised that these occupations are on the borderline of the SOL - I see many people from excellent IT backgrounds doing work that is several levels below what they were doing or are just working in a completely unrelated line.

Alfresco

Yep, indeed! It took me ages to find a job when we first arrived (8 months I think) for exactly the reasons you state above. I started doing lowly short term contracts and then eventually got a perm job which I hated and then found my current job which I love while I was still employed.

What development programming do you do?

Every silver lining has a cloud, but that's another story.

Gordon Barlow

In today's world, you have to go to where the jobs are - no ifs, ands or buts. Nine months unemployed (or at least not employed in any job you're professionally qualified for) is way, way too long. I don't know your whole back-story, of course, and I don't even live in Australia, but in general terms it makes no sense at all for you to hang around. Go! Go!