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‘Extreme’: This chart shows coronavirus’ impact on the jobs market

(Source: Seek)
(Source: Seek)

The coronavirus crisis has severely impacted livelihoods in Australia and all around the world, but new analysis by jobs website Seek has revealed just how badly jobs have been hit.

The number of new job ads have plummeted 65.3 per cent in the week ending 5 April compared to the same time last year.

According to Seek Australia and New Zealand managing director Kendra Banks, Australia’s jobs market had already taken a hit from the bushfire crisis – and the coronavirus pandemic has made everything much worse, describing the impact as “swift” and “extreme”.

“2020 was already off to a rocky start after Australia’s devastating bushfires and a looming economic slowdown, and job ad volumes within this timeframe reflected this, down between 7 – 11 per cent compared to the same period in 2019,” she said.

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The government has previously indicated it expects 1 million Australians out of work, and economists have forecasted for the unemployment rate to reach as high as 7.5 per cent.

There are two “distinct changes” occurring in Australia at the moment: a simultaneous mass reduction in the number of jobs on a national level, yet a huge uptick in demand for workers in specific industries, said Banks.

Victoria and New South Wales have been hardest hit, with job ads sliding by 71.6 per cent and 67.4 per cent respectively.

The industries seeking workers

But the good news is that business leaders of Corporate Australia have been working together, she said.

“Where companies have had to stand down workers, they are speaking to businesses who have an immediate need for labour to see if they can deploy staff into those roles.

“Organisations servicing the essential retail sector, and aspects of the healthcare sector have an urgent need for skilled and non-skilled workers.

“As businesses pivot to virtual and online delivery of goods and services, and many employees work-from-home, there is increased demand for cyber security specialists, and technology and product specialists to support these transitions,” she said.

“We are also seeing the impact of large organisations like banks, insurance, telecommunications and airlines bringing their call centre and shared services back to Australian shores.”

“The uptick in resources sees large resource companies hiring for highly skilled roles such as diesel fitters, auto electricians, as well as general skilled roles such as truck drivers and diggers.”

LinkedIn has also revealed data on which sectors are hiring, namely IT, software, healthcare and customer service.

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