Statistics Don’t Lie
This article appear in Issue 36 of my newsletter, InSight Published 10th June 2008 Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data always makes for interesting reading. Recently there were releases for the population growth for the 2007 calendar year and labour market statistics, current until the end of April 2008. I have reproduced the summary data below. 
Clearly, the natural resource states of Queensland and Western Australia are gaining the biggest percentage increase in population, driven by plentiful jobs and booming salaries on offer. A record number of births (285,254) and a record number of migrants (net 184,438) propelled Australia past 21 million people. 
In summary:
- Australia has record high labour market participation rate
- Australia has record high annual jobs growth
- Australia has a record high labour force size
- In 2007, Australia experienced its highest population growth since 1989
- The Unemployment rate is at a 33-year low
Regardless of the somewhat grim picture being painted by the media in this country, all of this data indicates that there is plenty for recruiters to be optimistic about in the coming financial year. Booming population and jobs growth are the twin engines that turbo-charge the recruitment sector and even a slightly less frenetic period of growth ahead, still means there are plenty of excellent opportunities for smart recruiters. I encourage you to set yourself aggressive and challenging growth targets for the next 12 months (I have). Top recruiters thrive in times like these.