Western Australia Jobs

Despite the strength of the mining industry, Western Australia job growth is expected to slow down slightly before the year is over.

According to the newest report by the Melbourne Institute, annual employment growth nationwide is expected to slow down to 2.2 percent in March of next year, which is down 0.6 percent from this year. The real cause of the diminishing job gains is believed to be the high interest rates that the Reserve Bank has set.

“The outlook for labor remains gloomy,” Dr. Michael Chua, of MI’s applied macroeconomics team, said. “The decline in dwelling commencements and the number of building approvals are indicative of further possible slowdown in the labor market, particularly in the construction sector.”

Although the institute expects there to be fewer new jobs, it predicts that the unemployment rate will remain steady at 4.3 percent through the beginning of 2009.

Throughout the country the number of positions created may slow, but Queensland and Western Australia are expected to remain the strongest states in this regard. Since the economy of both of these areas is driven by mining and resources, the institute believes they will have the strongest economic growth in earliest part of 2009.

“The stronger growth for Queensland and Western Australia is consistent with the relatively stronger consumer sentiment observed in these two states in June,” the report stated. “Although the continued demand for commodities and the associated improvement in the terms of trade tend to support the Australian economy, the prospect of rising inflation in China and India, and continued weakness in the US, poses an additional downside threat for Australian growth.”

Elsewhere in the country, Victoria and New South Wales are expected to have unemployment rates as high as 4.6 percent in March of 2009. NSW job growth will likely drop to 1.8 percent by the same time period, which is down from 3.2 percent this March. The institute has predicted that Victoria’s employment growth will slow down from 2.8 percent to 1.7 percent.