Skilled job vacancies slump
Jan 28th 2009, 7:19 am
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Skilled job vacancies slump
Not too enouraging a news from Sydney Morning Herald today. Here it is...... skilled job vacancies plunged by 44.8% in January from a year ago on a seasonally adjusted basis and fell by 0.1% from the previous month, the employment department said on Wednesday. Backing expectations of a rise in unemployment amid a global economic downturn, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations skilled vacancies index, which is based on the number of skilled vacancy advertisements in major newspapers, fell 7.7% in January to 56.1 in trend terms and was 43.4% lower than a year earlier.
Official figures showed the jobless rate at 4.5% in December, with the Federal Government forecasting unemployment to rise due to the impact of the global financial crisis on the economy. Vacancies fell in trend terms for all three occupational groups, with professionals down by 4%, trades down 10% and associate professionals down 8.8%. The department said the fall in skilled vacancies was widespread, with falls in 17 of the index's 18 sub groups. The biggest falls were for printing trades, down by 23.2%, metal trades, down 20.9%, and wood trades, down 16.2%. The only sector to record a rise was medical science and technical officers, up 2.9%.
Separately, the information and communications technology (ICT) index fell 14.8% in January to 130.1, and was 53.6% lower than a year earlier.
All states and territories experienced decreases in skilled vacancies in January, the largest drop being 10.4% in NSW. Similarly, all states and territories suffered declines in the year to January, again led by NSW with a fall of 57.3%.
Official figures showed the jobless rate at 4.5% in December, with the Federal Government forecasting unemployment to rise due to the impact of the global financial crisis on the economy. Vacancies fell in trend terms for all three occupational groups, with professionals down by 4%, trades down 10% and associate professionals down 8.8%. The department said the fall in skilled vacancies was widespread, with falls in 17 of the index's 18 sub groups. The biggest falls were for printing trades, down by 23.2%, metal trades, down 20.9%, and wood trades, down 16.2%. The only sector to record a rise was medical science and technical officers, up 2.9%.
Separately, the information and communications technology (ICT) index fell 14.8% in January to 130.1, and was 53.6% lower than a year earlier.
All states and territories experienced decreases in skilled vacancies in January, the largest drop being 10.4% in NSW. Similarly, all states and territories suffered declines in the year to January, again led by NSW with a fall of 57.3%.
