Post by Flash on Apr 5, 2008 19:42:47 GMT -5
Wt do we do?
SYDNEY has run out of workers. With record low unemployment and vacancies 9.3 per cent higher than a year ago, business owners say it's impossible to fill jobs.
And it's not just a skills shortage that has gripped the city, but a general labour shortage. The retail and hospitality industries, in particular, are struggling to find staff.
Shopfronts in every suburb feature "positions vacant'' signs and many are looking overseas as a solution to the labour crisis.
The number of 457 visas issued to skilled migrants nationally has risen from 71,000 in 2005-06 to 87,000 last year, and will exceed 100,000 this year.
Employers First chief executive Gary Brack said Sydney's pool of workers had dried up.
"We're down to 4.1 per cent unemployment,'' Mr Brack said.
"Once you start getting down to that level, you look at the content of the unemployment queues.
"Sadly for them and for the economy, they're not the people who have good education attainment and high levels of skill.
"Even though 4.1 per cent of the population is still theoretically unemployed, a lot of those people aren't capable of filling the positions that are generally available at the skills level.''
Fewer entry-level staff are available, and the resources boom, with its inflated salaries, is luring workers to Western Australia and Queensland.
"The demographic between 20 and 29 is at the lowest share of the working-age population it's ever been,'' Commsec chief economist Craig James said.
"That's part of the reason it's hard to find staff, particularly entry-level staff.
"As a result, employers are having to frequently go offshore to be able to get the staff we need. Migrants are filling the demand.''
Sydney business owners and recruitment agencies say they spend weeks inter-viewing candidates, only to lose them at the last minute to a better offer.
Retail Staffing Solutions director Alf DelPizzo said the economic climate and uncertainty about interest rates meant people were staying in their jobs.
"We have a shortage of bodies, not just skills. It's hard to fill a casual position - it's hard to fill positions full stop,'' Mr DelPizzo said.
Unemployment is at a 33-year low. The Olivier Job Index found there were 129,338 jobs advertised in NSW in February, up from 106,820 in February, 2007.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the number of unemployed in NSW fell from 182,100 to 150,700 in the same period.
Bob Olivier said 457 visas were a great solution.
"If you really want to alleviate the current shortages, bringing people in from overseas is by far the best way,'' he said.
Mr Brack agreed immigration was often better than trying to train the long-term unemployed.
People were also loath to relocate or travel a long way to work, Mr James said.
The 2008 Vedior Asia Pacific Employment Trends Survey to be released this week found attracting talent is the biggest human capital challenge over the next 18 months for 25 per cent of organisations with retaining talent second at 24 per cent.
Seek sales director Joe Powell said the high number of jobs in Sydney and the loss of workers to other states were a double whammy for NSW.
Chris Green, 32, completed a design degree last year and had three job offers.
He chose Singleton Ogilvy Interactive because of its size and the fact it was offering a little more money.
SYDNEY has run out of workers. With record low unemployment and vacancies 9.3 per cent higher than a year ago, business owners say it's impossible to fill jobs.
And it's not just a skills shortage that has gripped the city, but a general labour shortage. The retail and hospitality industries, in particular, are struggling to find staff.
Shopfronts in every suburb feature "positions vacant'' signs and many are looking overseas as a solution to the labour crisis.
The number of 457 visas issued to skilled migrants nationally has risen from 71,000 in 2005-06 to 87,000 last year, and will exceed 100,000 this year.
Employers First chief executive Gary Brack said Sydney's pool of workers had dried up.
"We're down to 4.1 per cent unemployment,'' Mr Brack said.
"Once you start getting down to that level, you look at the content of the unemployment queues.
"Sadly for them and for the economy, they're not the people who have good education attainment and high levels of skill.
"Even though 4.1 per cent of the population is still theoretically unemployed, a lot of those people aren't capable of filling the positions that are generally available at the skills level.''
Fewer entry-level staff are available, and the resources boom, with its inflated salaries, is luring workers to Western Australia and Queensland.
"The demographic between 20 and 29 is at the lowest share of the working-age population it's ever been,'' Commsec chief economist Craig James said.
"That's part of the reason it's hard to find staff, particularly entry-level staff.
"As a result, employers are having to frequently go offshore to be able to get the staff we need. Migrants are filling the demand.''
Sydney business owners and recruitment agencies say they spend weeks inter-viewing candidates, only to lose them at the last minute to a better offer.
Retail Staffing Solutions director Alf DelPizzo said the economic climate and uncertainty about interest rates meant people were staying in their jobs.
"We have a shortage of bodies, not just skills. It's hard to fill a casual position - it's hard to fill positions full stop,'' Mr DelPizzo said.
Unemployment is at a 33-year low. The Olivier Job Index found there were 129,338 jobs advertised in NSW in February, up from 106,820 in February, 2007.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, the number of unemployed in NSW fell from 182,100 to 150,700 in the same period.
Bob Olivier said 457 visas were a great solution.
"If you really want to alleviate the current shortages, bringing people in from overseas is by far the best way,'' he said.
Mr Brack agreed immigration was often better than trying to train the long-term unemployed.
People were also loath to relocate or travel a long way to work, Mr James said.
The 2008 Vedior Asia Pacific Employment Trends Survey to be released this week found attracting talent is the biggest human capital challenge over the next 18 months for 25 per cent of organisations with retaining talent second at 24 per cent.
Seek sales director Joe Powell said the high number of jobs in Sydney and the loss of workers to other states were a double whammy for NSW.
Chris Green, 32, completed a design degree last year and had three job offers.
He chose Singleton Ogilvy Interactive because of its size and the fact it was offering a little more money.