verystormy

I can also only speak for personal perspective.
Contracting pay would have paid about $1500 - 2000 a day a year ago. I am now getting $400 a day. A failed major drop.
Permanent jobs - scarce and would love one - have gone from about $180-200k per year to $100k.

Beoz

That's in the resources sector right?

If you have a perm job and you are on 200k per year, are they dropping people's salary when it comes to review time?

the troubadour

Well that adds to a decline in living standards as does the falling dollar. But actual salary rates are in decline as well. Those not on permanent contracts having to go year to year are being hit. Indeed I am aware of three rather well paid people being paid out in full with between eight and ten months of contract left to run.

My partner has just taken a massive pay cut after rejecting a similar payout to the tune of close on $60,000 per annum.

I was informed some time back the rather hefty part time casual rate I was being paid was being reduced with a months notice. More or less take it or leave it. It certainly wouldn't have been so eighteen months previously.

the troubadour

Thought you said you were on minimum wage rates on another thread. If on $10,000 still doing better than most.

Beoz

I notice you are in Perth. Would I be correct to assume that you and your partner were on big resources boom contract rates?

the troubadour

Nothing at all to do with the resource industry. Not such big bucks as that I'm afraid, but a darn sight more than now, but only making a point. Don't live for money but are in the fortunate state of being completely debt free with healthy accounts. For those stretched by credit loans attempting to pay over priced real estate, suffering a declining income through what ever means,well let's just say glad not there.

Beoz

Hold on. Were moving around pretty quickly here. Let's deal with one thing at a time. What do you do? What caused your rate to subside or what made it so high in the first place? For those involved in resources it pretty obvious. Boom to not so boom.

the troubadour

Belt tightening pretty wide spread. They cut because they can and in partners case a direct result of funding cuts and job title changes, my case board looking for savings and those on casual high paid rates easy targets.
So called boom led to a lot of non related salary increases in order to keep staff from going north.

Salary ten years back not really high but cost of living more life very affordable with house prices in the accepted 3x income range or there abouts.

Beoz

Still don't know what you do but you do mention some boom related scenarios. That's Perth, casual and contract rates chasing the dollar when the boom is on and does tend to have its own micro climate.

verystormy

Yes, I was on minimum wage. That role finished and managed to get another role at the same site managing two projects.
A lot of staff in my sector are paid a large part of their salary by performance bonus. This can account for over half of income. Most places have simp,y stopped paying this out.

the troubadour

It is not envy but I for one am rather glad the obscene wages paid to some, enough to distort the WA economy have somewhat dissipated and hopefully a return to some resemblance to live pre 2004 may return.

A pipe dream likely I know. The greed in the latter years knew few bounds are really benefited too few.

Amazulu

One of the most fundamental things that i have learned in all this MBA economics that I have been ploughing through is that the cost of labour is based on the availability of labour. That's it. Everywhere. End of story

If employers have to increase wages to retain staff then that is what they will do - and vice versa. What went on in WA was the market deciding what people are paid and now that is still equally true

For what I do, rates are falling in WA (although still pretty good). In the UK, they are rising. So much so that they are on a par with the good times here - and probably now heading even higher. Why is this happening? Supply/demand for labour. Loads of big engineering and infrastructure stuff happening or about to happen over there. Lots of UK project engineering outfits do work overseas as well. Not enough skilled engineering people. Companies need to pay more to retain and attract said skills. That's it in a nutshell

What happened in WA had to happen. What's happening now has to happen

ab a

From what I'm reading the job prospect isn't looking good! I was thinking to myself at worst I could always go to Perth, it's expensive to live there but more likely to find engineering jobs. I take it I was wrong there as well. Things are picking up in the UK especially infrastructure and gradually building industry.

What would be a piece of advice you'd give a junior engineer thinking about immigrating? Wait a bit longer and get some more experience? Are there any jobs or industries that are doing well at the moment in Australia?

Thanks

Beoz

Yes. Read back through the thread and stay away from Perth.

the troubadour

Well yes it is following the text book to the latter reasoning. I had advocated such a movement for three years and was often shouted down by people thinking the boom was ongoing due to the modernization of China and its sheer size and that India would take up any slack.

All history now but not sure the readjustment will be as bad as the worst case scenario some are now advocating, although we in WA will likely cop the worst of it, but as a nation depends if we can fill the gap outside of population growth in order to maintain GDP and something other than housing to fill the short term void. It does appear this could run awhile yet but cannot be the saviour longer term.

Perhaps a dose of deflation will be no mean thing apart from those with mortgages that got in later in the cycle? Would the government allow that? Probably a last option at present.

UK looking pretty good for those wanting to get ahead at the moment. I wouldn't return there at this stage myself personally although the attraction would be the neighbourhood more than UK.
A German agency was willing to place me in an advertised position but said no thanks. Would have cost 2000 Euro's to be placed in the position, have a three month trail period, pass a German competency test all for less money initially and job uncertainty after one year.