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Australian Mining Job Outlook

Calvin Close — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 18:56:07 +0000

The Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA) has released a survey showing that over half of our mining companies will cut staff numbers over the next 12 months.

The AMMA surveyed over 100 mining companies and found that:

55% of companies were likely to cut staff
a further 21% of companies said that cutting staff was a possibility
15% suggested that they were not likely to cut staff
9% said they were not sure

These figures come on the heels of the news that in the last quarter, over 10,000 job cuts have been made, according to the AMMA.

This is amazing given a prediction less than 12 months ago suggesting that an additional 86,000 mine staff would be needed.

Calvin Close
Australian Mining Reference

Australian Mining State of Play

Calvin Close — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:44:34 +0000

We have all seen the news about the slowing Australian economy. The latest ANZ jobs survey showed a 5.9% decrease in job advertisements in October. This followed a 1.4 decrease in September. Overall, job advertisements are down 9.8% from October last year.
(See full story on MarketWatch)

The government has release the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) which predicts that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and jobs growth are both expected to slow significantly. However, Treasury has assessed that a recession is not in prospect.
(See full story on Forbes)

Yes. Australia is being affected by the global financial crisis.

So what about the mining industry?

Many people believe that the mining boom has peaked. Actually, it seems more like there is a “wait and see” approach being taken by some mining companies. Many projects have been put “on hold” while the mining companies assess potential drops in resources demand. Production cuts have also been announced by several mining companies. This has meant that many companies have already cut staff.

The recent announcement of China’s Economic Stimulus plan has caused shares in major Australian mining companies to rise on Monday.

Despite the downturn, the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has maintained that demand from China will continue at high levels. They are still predicting significant increases in jobs over the next 12 years.

It will be interesting to watch proceedings over the next few months.

Port Hedland: Fly-In Plumbers Earn $90k in Mining Boom

Calvin Close — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 14:51:00 +0000

How many of you read the article in The Australian where plumbers are in such short supply in Port Hedland that they are being flown in from Perth?

Apparently, the mining boom in the far north of Western Australia has left the town short of plumbers, mechanics and other trades personnel. The local trades people are taking up mining jobs with the big mining companies who are struggling to keep up with the world demand for iron ore and other mining products.

Even though plumbers are being paid $90,000 per year to fix household plumbing problems, plumbing contractors just are not able to compete with the $120,000+ per year paid by the mining companies.

It will be interesting to see how long this resources boom can last. If you look at the share market this week, the mining stock prices have certainly been up and down all week. Metal prices have also been up and down over the last few weeks. Not even the traders seem to know what is going to happen.

If you are looking for employment (of any kind) in the mining industry, check out the latest mining jobs on The Mining Jobsite. Also, even if you do not find the job you are looking for, make sure you register as a jobseeker so you can be notified of new mining positions as they are posted by our recruiters.

Calvin Close
Managing Director
miningreference.com – Australia’s Premier Mining Directory