Yahoo Finance Coronavirus wreaks havoc on Aussie jobs, decimates industries
The nation’s unemployment rate has risen 0.1 per cent to 5.2 per cent over the March quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic forces business to shut shop.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics data found the underemployment rate also rose 0.1 per cent to 8.7 per cent.
Treasury has forecast the economic shock of the virus to push Australia’s unemployment rate to 10 per cent in the June quarter, which equates to around 1.4 million Australians out of work.
That rate could have hit 15 per cent, according to the Treasury, were it not for the government’s $130 billion JobKeeper stimulus.
Also read: The jobs coronavirus can’t touch
Also read: The jobs hardest hit by coronavirus
Also read: This chart shows coronavirus’ impact on the jobs market
During the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the unemployment rate rose 1.75 per cent to 5.75 per cent. The last time our unemployment rate increased around 5 per cent was during each of the early 1980s and 1990s recessions, according to Reserve Bank of Australia data.
Job ads down
The coronavirus pandemic has seen the number of job ads dive significantly, according to the latest Seek data.
Seek data recorded a 33.9 per cent dip in job ads across the month of March compared with the same period in 2019.
That figure ballooned to 68.6 per cent drop for the week ending 12 April, compared with the same week last year.
The hospitality and tourism sector were hit the hardest, with job ads declining week on week throughout the month of March, starting at -13 per cent, then -26 per cent and then 69.2 per cent. By the final week of March, job ads in this sector were down -84.1 per cent.
“SEEK saw employers and business owners looking for roles within the sector, such as bar
staff, housekeeping, guest services, tour guides, airline staff and travel agents, cease or stall their plans completely, which is a direct result of the restrictions imposed by authorities such as international borders closing and social isolation measures,” Kendra Banks, Seek ANZ managing director said.
The jobs coronavirus can’t touch
While some sectors are still in decline, others are bucking the trend, according to LinkedIn’s latest hiring data.
With many businesses working from home, it’s no surprise the software and IT sector has seen a whopping 17.3 per cent increase in hiring between mid-February and mid-March, compared with that same period last year.
And with healthcare workers on the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus, the healthcare sector has seen a 12.6 per cent increase in hiring in the same period.
The finance industry has also seen a 10.3 per cent increase in hiring.
According to Seek data, despite an overall decline, the community services and development sector is still showing some pockets of activity, as governments and service providers aim to meet community demand.
The same is true for the farming, animals and conservation sector, as well as the insurance and superannuation sectors.
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