IT&T jobs fall off a cliff, graduates hit hardest

Stan Beer
Friday, 31 October 2008 11:51

IT People - Enterprise

Mid-October was the tipping point, with job ads falling more dramatically after the second week., according to the Olivier Group.

Looking at the index as a whole, director of the Olivier Group, Robert Olivier, commented:

"The fall is across almost every industry, and the rate of decline is accelerating. This will inevitably flow through to the official unemployment rate," he said.

Job opportunities for graduates have fallen 7.7% in the past month, and 29% in the past year.  IT entry level jobs are amongst the hardest hit.

 "The outlook is bleak for young Australians who don’t have jobs. If uni leavers don’t have a job yet, they’ll find it extremely tough to find one," Olivier said.

In an ominous sign for the IT&T contracting space, employers appear to be battening down the hatches and turning to in-house expertise.

According to Olivier, casual and temporary jobs across all sectors are hurting worst, dropping 19.2% in the year, and 6.9% last month. Employers are favouring their permanents – although those jobs still dropped by 4.6% in the month, and 6.1% in the last year.

Australia's largest state New South Wales, which has lately gained a reputation of being an economic basket case, had the worst month with job ads across all sectors falling 8.04%. The volatility of the stock market and the loss of Financial Services jobs hit Sydney particularly hard.

"This was the worst figure of all the states, and dragged the national total down," Olivier says.

In comparison vacancies in second largest state Victoria fell 4.9%, while ads in Queensland fell 2.88%.

WA is still the bright spot in the Australian job market, with 12 month growth of 13.22% but that could be famous last words.

"With job ads falling 0.77% last month, its reputation as a sanctuary from the global economic woes may be about to change," Olivier says. "While Engineering job ads are up just 0.89%, Trades and Services jobs fell 12.44% and Transport jobs are down 14.35%."
 
Robert Olivier has some advice for people who may feel their jobs are at risk:

"When you think there’s a chance you’ll be retrenched there’s a natural inclination to wait around for a payout. You’re better off looking for a job while you're employed, than when you’ve lost your job. That way you're controlling your own destiny.”