The lucky country: Australia’s labour market progress since 1992
At this time in 1992 I had just turned 26 and was in
my second year as a temp recruiter at Recruitment Solutions in the
Sydney CBD with a remuneration structure of $35,000 base plus team
commission. We had moved offices from 50 Margaret St to 275 George St
and for the first time I had a computer on my desk. My largest client
was Bankers Trust and I suspect I was probably running about 15 jobs on
average (500 hours per week). I was a long way off being a successful
recruiter.
my second year as a temp recruiter at Recruitment Solutions in the
Sydney CBD with a remuneration structure of $35,000 base plus team
commission. We had moved offices from 50 Margaret St to 275 George St
and for the first time I had a computer on my desk. My largest client
was Bankers Trust and I suspect I was probably running about 15 jobs on
average (500 hours per week). I was a long way off being a successful
recruiter.
My personal life had little to report as I was still
paying off my student travel loan (interest rates on non-mortgage loans
were then about 10%) and had no excess money. I was renting a small
unrenovated terrace in
Hunters Hill with my best friend, Scott. I had no car, no girlfriend
and little social life. My only regular entertainment was going along to
the SCG with Scott see the Sydney Swans get thrashed on a regular basis.
paying off my student travel loan (interest rates on non-mortgage loans
were then about 10%) and had no excess money. I was renting a small
unrenovated terrace in
Hunters Hill with my best friend, Scott. I had no car, no girlfriend
and little social life. My only regular entertainment was going along to
the SCG with Scott see the Sydney Swans get thrashed on a regular basis.
Oh,
and I had hair then (see picture, right).
Australia was in a very different place then. Just
coming out of the recession, average residential
house prices in Sydney ($183,300) and Melbourne ($125,000) still
hadn’t recovered sufficiently from the housing bust of late 1990. In
fact Brisbane’s average 1992 house price ($129,000) was higher than
Melbourne’s (and this remained the case until 1998).
coming out of the recession, average residential
house prices in Sydney ($183,300) and Melbourne ($125,000) still
hadn’t recovered sufficiently from the housing bust of late 1990. In
fact Brisbane’s average 1992 house price ($129,000) was higher than
Melbourne’s (and this remained the case until 1998).
The labour market was a vastly different place as
well.
well.
Here’s some interesting comparative twenty year data
just released by the
ABS that I thought was worth sharing with you:
just released by the
ABS that I thought was worth sharing with you:
|
Area
|
1992
|
2012
|
Change
|
|
Aus population aged 15 plus
|
13.61 million
|
18.61 million
|
+44%
|
|
Labour force participation
|
|
||
|
males
|
74.2%
|
71.8%
|
-2.4 percentage points
|
|
females
|
51.9%
|
58.8%
|
+6.9 percentage points
|
|
persons
|
62.9%
|
65.2%
|
+3.3 percentage points
|
|
Employment
|
|
||
|
males
|
4.41 million
|
6.25 million
|
+42%
|
|
females
|
3.23 million
|
5.25 million
|
+63%
|
|
persons
|
7.64 million
|
11.5 million
|
+51%
|
|
Unemployment (thousands)
|
|
||
|
males
|
566.2 (11.4%)
|
339.9 (5.2%)
|
-40%
|
|
females
|
358.9 (10.0%)
|
295.4 (5.3%)
|
-18%
|
|
persons
|
925.1 (10.8%)
|
635.3 (5.2%)
|
-31%
|
|
Average hours worked per week
|
|
||
|
full time workers
|
40.8
|
38.8
|
-2.0 hours (4.9%)
|
|
part time workers
|
15.0
|
16.1
|
+1.1 hours (7.3%)
|
|
Industrial disputes
|
|
||
|
working days lost per 1,000 employees
|
147.1
|
26.7
|
-82%
|
|
working days lost
|
941,100
|
273,200
|
-71%
|
|
trade union members as a proportion of all employees |
39.6%
|
18.2%
|
-21.4 percentage points
|
|
Average weekly earnings (full time adult) |
|
||
|
male
|
$933
|
$1491
|
+60%
|
|
female
|
$789
|
$1230
|
+56%
|
|
Job vacancies (trend estimates, thousands) |
|
|
|
|
private sector
|
28.3
|
153
|
+446%
|
|
public sector
|
7.2
|
12.2
|
+69%
|
Despite the past six to nine months being very
challenging for the recruitment industry, as a whole the opportunities
are still enormous for modern-day recruiters when you consider the
Australian labour market is just over fifty per cent bigger than it was
twenty years ago and the number of vacancies is nearly four times
higher.
challenging for the recruitment industry, as a whole the opportunities
are still enormous for modern-day recruiters when you consider the
Australian labour market is just over fifty per cent bigger than it was
twenty years ago and the number of vacancies is nearly four times
higher.
In my first year as a recruiter in Australia I was
part of a consultant roster for the reception desk during our
receptionist’s lunch hour (our second receptionist was made redundant),
all the rented pot plants were sent back, office drinks were BYO and all
staff accepted a base salary cut.
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part of a consultant roster for the reception desk during our
receptionist’s lunch hour (our second receptionist was made redundant),
all the rented pot plants were sent back, office drinks were BYO and all
staff accepted a base salary cut.
Things might look tough right now but it’s a picnic
in the park compared to 1992.
in the park compared to 1992.
There’s a lot to be positive about right now.
Related articles:
The 5 things I wish I knew when I started in recruitment
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