WA's executive demand up 17% in May: EL Consult

Demand for executives in Western Australia was up 17 per cent in May, with management and information technology staff leading the way, according to EL Consult's June Executive Demand index.

The Index showed demand for executive-level employees had increased 53 per cent in Western Australia over the past year as the resources boom gave rise to a range of new industries and an increasing population.

The full text of an EL Consult announcement is pasted below

Demand for Australian executives reached another record high by growing a further 5% in May compared with the previous month, according to the E.L Executive Demand Index.

The further increase in demand in May means that the demand for local executives is in a very healthy state, having risen by 24% in the past year in reaction to steady domestic and global economic growth, a relatively benign international interest rate environment and booming sharemarkets.

Mr Grant Montgomery, Managing Director of the executive search firm E.L Consult that researches and publishes the E.L Index, said: "There is money around to hire new executives in all industries and in all states and it has been that way for some time.

"International companies are wanting new people to fire growth around the Asia Pacific, Australian companies in the resources area are wanting to dig as many holes in the ground as quickly as they can. Tertiary industries are looking to take advantage of the healthy level of consumer confidence being buttressed by the rising sharemarket.

"Both state and federal governments are spending heavily on infrastructure and this is boosting demand on the public side. "This is close to the perfect situation for Australian executives," Mr Montgomery said.

The recently released national accounts show GDP growth accelerating to 1.6% in the March quarter, providing growth of 3.8% over the year. Consumer spending grew by an above-average 4.2% for the year while home building grew by 9.5%.

On the business investment side, strong spending in non-dwelling construction saw business investment up a total 7.3%.

Despite the overall increase, it is still West Australia that led the way among the larger states. WA increased its demand for executive-level positions by 17% compared with the previous month, with the highest sector increases recorded in Management and Information Technology.

Demand in West Australia has increased by 53% in the past year as the resources boom has forced a rapid evolution in the Perth cityscape. A range of industries have sprung up to service the newly-rich resources companies and the people who work for them.

"Any scepticism over the longevity of this boom has been dispelled. Even if there is a significant decrease in resource prices, the range of projects currently on the drawing boards and being executed will guarantee that the West Australian economy continues to expand," Mr Montgomery said.

Although the increase in executive demand has boosted advertising levels, the advertising has been heavily skewed in favour of online media.

Unfortunately for the major newspapers, since February 2007 the level of advertising in online media has risen by 1% while the level of print advertising has fallen 1%.

Since May 2006, the level of advertising in online media has risen by 30% while the level of print advertising has risen by 16%.

"Since May 2006 the growth in the level of advertising online has been close to double that of print advertising. Advertisers are moving online because they get to target candidates in a large number of geographical regions at the same time and because it is significantly cheaper than newspaper advertising.

"There is no doubt that newspaper advertising can be effective, but in terms of scope when you are looking for candidates internationally the Internet is way ahead," Mr Montgomery said.

Information Technology was the best performing sector, followed by Management.

The Financial sector and Engineering sectors registered slight gains, while Marketing fell.

South Australia was the strongest region while West Australia was the strongest of the large states. All regions except for Tasmania moved forward compared with the previous month.