The Changing Face of the Australian Job Market: Western Australia

According to the Australian Government’s Department of Employment, Western Australia is the fourth largest employing state; employing approximately 1,334,600 Australians.

The Australian Jobs Report is an annual publication that reflects the changes in the Australian Labour Market; providing some great information around industries, regions and career paths that are booming in Australia.

If you are interested in discovering which industries in Western Australia are in the top five across the state in 2018, read on.

As suggested by the data collected, Perth is the top city that employs the most Western Australians.

Over the past five years, WA has had the weakest employment growth when compared to any other state or territory across the nation. This is a result of the fall of employment in Mining, which is down by 26.9%, or 22,600 jobs, and Manufacturing, which is down by 24.7% or 22,600 jobs.

Despite this notable loss, WA still maintains 41% of Mining jobs within Australia, and it accounts for 7% of the state’s employment.

The Accommodation and Food Services industry had contributed the largest amount of new jobs in the last five years, then Health Care and Social Assistance, followed by Education and Training.

Approximately 66% of workers in the WA have a post-school qualification. It was also found that across this data, those who do have a post-school qualification are more likely to hold a certificate III or higher Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification than a bachelor degree or higher (32% compared with 28%).

In Western Australia, the top five employing industries are:

Circumstances surrounding youth employment in Western Australia have weakened over the past year, with youth employment decreasing by 10,100 (or 5%).

WA’s youth unemployment rate has increased by 1.5% in January 2018, making it the highest rate since August 2004.

As suggested by the Australian Jobs Report 2018, the short-term outlook for the Western Australian economy is “for some modest improvement.”

There is an expected 1.5% employment growth in 2018-19, while the unemployment rate is forecast to average 5.75% during this timeframe.

From these statistics, it is more important than ever that workers gain qualifications in areas that surround the five largest industries, to guarantee employment in the upcoming years.

If the above careers interest you, explore our large range of courses in these booming industry areas below.