Yahoo Finance These are Australia’s fastest-growing jobs
Australia’s jobs market is moving along sluggishly, with no real improvement in unemployment figures – but some sectors are still continuing to hire prolifically.
According to new figures from Seek, job ads in the community services and development sector grew the most out of any other sector in 2019, rising 8.7 per cent year-on-year.
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This was followed by the healthcare and medical sector, with the volume of job ads rising 7.8 per cent last year, and the mining, resources and energy industry also showing solid growth at 4.5 per cent.
Community services and development sector
Growth in this sector has primarily been driven by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), according to NAB economist Kaixin Owyong.
“There is significant spending across the industry due to the NDIS, and this is creating demand for talent,” she said.
The fastest-growing roles:
Aged & Disability Support (17%)
Community Development (16.9%)
Indigenous & Multicultural Services (12.5%)
Healthcare and medical sector
Job ads in this sector also saw a direct boost from the NDIS, but there are other factors too.
“The increase is largely due to greater demands of the growing and aging population,” said Owyong.
Notably, demand for speech therapists in the healthcare and medical sector grew a stunning 53.8 per cent, followed by residents and registrars.
Nurses working in aged care were also in high demand, with job ad growth at 21.9 per cent.
The fastest-growing roles:
Speech Therapy (53.8%)
Residents & Registrars (37.2%)
Nursing - Aged Care (21.9%)
Mining, resources and energy
A renewed mining boom has seen this sector come back to life, according to Owyong.
Last year, positions in natural resources and water rose by nearly a quarter from 2018, while health, safety and environment job ads jumped 20.9 per cent.
The fastest-growing roles:
Natural Resources & Water (24.8%)
Health, Safety & Environment (20.9%)
Oil & Gas - Operations (15.8%)
The biggest drops in job ads
The design and architecture industry saw a 23.2 per cent reduction in job ads, followed by the construction sector at a 17.5 per cent decline year-on-year.
“The slowdown in the housing market last year had an impact on both architecture and construction,” said Owyong.
“The good news for these industries is that the market is almost back to its peak.”
Last year was bad for the advertising, arts and media industry, which recorded a 17.2 per cent dip in job ads.
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