Deancm

Quote ABS "Personal crime victimisation prevalence rates varied only slightly in most states and territories between the 2002 and 2005 surveys. Changes in the rate occurred in:

* Victoria, where it fell to 4.5% in 2005 from 5.2% in 2002
* Queensland, where it increased to 6.1% in 2005 from 4.7% in 2002."

As you mentioned QLD and WA have of late been a driving force for the Australian econonmy and as you say, these industries are natural resources. A lot of the work in QLD and WA is in remote areas. So, if you a prepared to travel then there is a lot of work.

The problem is that most people don't want to live in the middle of nowhere. Getting work in the CBD is far more competitive.

I know loads of people that moved to QLD only to return to Melbourne because they couldn't get work.

fish.01

I think $85,000 is at the low end. A lot of the senior A/P's in my company get around $100,000 in Brisbane. This Hays survey http://www.hays.com.au/salary/pdfs08...Technology.pdf gives some independent stats.

Still lower than 65,000 stirling though. I wonder if that is over inflated as well given the state of the IT market in the UK. Regional UK often pays a lot less.

I found the biggest difference is in contract rates. UK often a lot higher. I think permanent salaries are lifestyle comparable.

fish.01

If you are talking engineers I would agree but IT? Brisbane still has most of the IT jobs - they don't need them onsite. Brisbane has a lot bigger variety of industry these days. Melbourne will always have more IT jobs but it also has far more candidates. Given the overall lower unemployment I have seen no evidence that the ratio of jobs/candidates is worse in Brisbane/Melbourne. In fact we have had a good time of it in Brisbane.

Though crime stats are neglible and are for Qld - Brisbane vs Melbourne would be more accurate given the disparate nature of Qld.

Deancm

Depending where you are in the UK regional UK does pay less than London. There is usually about a 5K discrepancy although consultancy roles pay the same no matter where you are in the UK due to the mobility of the job. Yes, big difference between UK and Oz contract rates. Although I heard that 12 months or so ago the mines in WA were paying up to c$2000/day rates.

Deancm

I wasn't being industry specific. Yes, Brisbane always has been a bit of an I hub. Brisbane also has the highest interstate migrant rate at the moment as well aparently with the population growing faster than any other state. (That's what the Brisbane websitie states anyway)

fish.01

I don't know about consultancy rates, but contract rates did have a London premium in the UK. Sometimes they were the same but often they were 10-20% lower. A lot more of the contract jobs with lower rates were in regional area's. Makes sense given the high paying London financial firms vs regional utility companies and the like. Or did, heard that is all over now.

Deancm

Yep, all over now. There aren't many contract opps in the UK at the moment and some firms are reducing their contractors rates by 25%. If the contractor doesn't like it they are just terminating the contract.

I had a read at Hays salary survey... I wouldn't believe everything your read from them, a bunch of schiesters. On average the salaries they stated are about $10K above the norm. Managing client expectations so that can earn higher placement fees.

fish.01

Even broadly speaking Brisbane unemployment has been good. You may not have realized from a distance but Brisbane figures are good. Some more Government stats:

Brisbane Area Profile

Unemployment Rate : 3.8 %
Job Seekers : 85 537
Average Job Seeker Age : 34
Average Job Seeker Unemployment Duration : 18 months
Working Age Population (15-64) : 1 882 581

Melbourne Area Profile

Unemployment Rate : 4.6 %
Job Seekers : 106 130
Average Job Seeker Age : 36
Average Job Seeker Unemployment Duration : 21 months
Working Age Population (15-64) : 2 688 112

I also don't agree that the Qld crime figures indicate you should choose other cities over Brisbane. It feels very safe to me unless I travel to far flung outer suburbs 18km+ from the CBD - and even a lot of them out there are great. As a larger city I would imagine Melbourne has a lot more edgier urban suburbs. That's what makes Melbourne a good choice for younger people looking for fun.

fish.01

Yeah, the bad end of contracting.

Funny, I have found the Hays IT figures quite accurate as taken from real data. Would agree with you with some other surveys though. Have talked to my colleagues about Hays and they agreed.

Geelong Gent

Current rate in Oz $180 per hour
Recently offered role in UK about £120 per hour (Unable to compare London to regional areas as have not investigated those areas)

What difference are you seeing in Oz v UK Rates?

Geelong Gent

My firm uses Mercer which takes subscribers updates to show current market values.

In all though how much the client pays goes on how much shit they are in and how many other people in the market are available to get them out of it.
(How much they have to pay also)

Deancm

How recent are these figures? 2008 or 2009?

Overall, everywhere is generally safe in Australia. Definitely safer than the UK. Only Brisbane has been reknowned for assaults in the CBD Fri and Sat nights. Same problem in Melb at the moment.

fish.01

Few high profile incidents I think....hard to judge your safety from them.

Here's the fine print about when the figures are from:

DEEWR administrative data as at September 2008 except for the unemployment rate which is DEEWR Small Area Labour Market Statistical Local Area estimates January 2009 (for new ESA boundaries), or ABS Labour Force Survey September 2008 three month average data (for current ESA boundaries).

thedons

After injury time and penalties brisbane won 7-6

Deancm

I would be interested in seeing some more recent figures. I think there would be a marked difference over the last few months and things are only going to get worse.

Salaries in the last few years in IT have been over inflated and are plummeting at the moment.