Jobs boom defies doom and gloom
INTERNATIONAL predictions of doom and gloom abound and much of Australia’s eastern landmass is in the midst of a crippling drought. However, it seems business is booming in the Orana Region, with a new report revealing a rapid level of growth in regional employment.
The Australian Jobs 2019 report, released by the Federal Government’s Department of Jobs and Small Business, shows the Orana and Far West had the second highest growth rate in the state behind the Mid North Coast region.
RDA Orana chairman, John Walkom, said he was pleased to see the exceptional growth rate of employment in the region.
“At 15.4 per cent, the Orana had the second highest growth in employment in NSW in the past five years,” he said.
“Only the Mid North Coast was higher, at 16.9 per cent with Greater Sydney (13.5 per cent) behind both Dubbo and Illawarra (13.8 per cent).”
The data also showed that 43 per cent of the workforce in Orana had not received any post-secondary qualifications.
“Sydney has the most highly educated workforce in the state, with 71 per cent holding post-school qualifications. But as the data shows, this does not equate to employability,” Mr Walkom said.
“What is clear is that there are fantastic job and career opportunities in the regions, in the past month alone more than 340 positions have been advertised in the Orana with majority in the health and mining sectors.”
In total, there are more than four million employees in NSW, with health care and social assistance shown as the highest industry employer, followed by professional, scientific and technical services.
Employment growth across the state is above the national average, with the largest rises in professional services and construction.
Incredibly, despite the current long-running drought and a housing market in decline across much of the nation, prices for farms in the region keep rising.
And livestock such as sheep, cattle and goats are also showing very strong returns even though fodder shortages are predicted if there’s no significant rain in the next few months.
“The level of investment in the Orana region has aided employment growth and is visible across other sectors,” Mr Walkom said.
“This has enabled a very healthy economy and strong belief in the future viability and success of the region.”