More competition for staff as mining industry recovers

By far the biggest source of new job advertisements in Australia is mining, resources and energy, according to an annual report published by SEEK, Australia’s number one jobs site.

There was a 72% rise in job advertisements in the sector in August 2017 compared to August 2016.

Such a rise in the number of mining jobs is a trend not just confined to Australia.

ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Report found that in the US, staffing levels in the US mining sector are expected to grow by 13% during Q4 2017.

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All of this is good news for the industry. The rise in staffing is a positive sign of recovery for the industry after a difficult few years.

“We had a large downturn between 2014-2016 and the industry is coming back,” said Matthew Wilcox, Nordgold’s Project Director of the Gross mine project.

“It certainly went through a big lull and it didn’t necessarily make things more difficult for the mines or developing projects but it meant a lot more manpower resources were available to companies that were investing at the time.

“As things recover, there’s more competition for staff and contractors.”

Solid economic performance in a number of regions is proving to be positive news for the mining and metals sector.

According to figures from EY, global growth will reach 2.8% this year and is forecast at 3% in 2018.

Both the US and Eurozone are growing steadily at around 2.1% in 2017 and this is expected to continue in the EU in 2018.

US economic growth may be stronger in 2018 at around 2.4% on the back of stimulus plans.

As the industry returns to strength, there will be increased demand for staff.