Employment opportunities for geoscientists in Western Australia are improving, but it is not the best state in Australia for job prospects, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Employment opportunities for geoscientists in Western Australia are improving, but it is not the best state in Australia for job prospects, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Employment opportunities for geoscientists in Western Australia are improving, but it is not the best state in Australia for job prospects, according to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Geoscientists.
Unemployment among professional geoscientists in WA fell from 8.5 per cent at the end of March to 7.8 per cent at the end of June, while underemployment fell from 17.6 per cent to 11 per cent for the same period.
It is the lowest unemployment level for geoscientists in the state since the beginning of 2013, and a stark contrast to the lows experienced in the first quarter of 2016, when the unemployment rate of geoscientists reached around 22 per cent.
Victoria recorded the largest reduction in the unemployment rate, from 11.8 per cent at the end of March to 5.9 per cent in June.
Underemployment in Victoria declined from 17.6 per cent at the end of March to 14.7 per cent at the end of June.
Only a small number of responses were received from geoscientists working in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, which indicated near-full employment of small pools of local geoscientists
However, Queensland, NSW, and South Australia all recorded increases in both unemployment and under-employment.
Australian Institute of Geoscientists president Andrew Waltho said he was surprised by the weak results in these states.
“The depressed employment prospects for geoscientists are a surprise given mineral exploration expenditure rose during the June quarter according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last week although mineral exploration drilling declined,” he said.
“There is little doubt that junior exploration and mining companies especially are experiencing difficulty raising capital to fund new exploration and producers are having to deal with considerable uncertainty and price volatility, at least partly due to trade tensions between the US and China.
“Long-term unemployment is the big issue in these figures. Half of Australia’s unemployed geoscientists have been without work for 12 months or more, and a similar number see no new opportunities on the horizon.”
The survey was completed by 734 respondents nationally.