Our ever-evolving workforce

TASMANIA’S economic base has changed significantly over the past 10 years, forcing many people into parttime work.

The shift is noted in data that also shows the number of men employed in the state had dropped while the number of women in the workforce had risen.

Demographer Lisa Denny said the change had occurred mainly because of the state’s transition from an industrial to a service economy.

Among other statistics, recent Census data showed the “typical” Tasmanian in 2016 was a 42-year-old female who was married, living in a couple family with two children. The “typical” Tasmanian owned their home outright, and had two cars.

Ms Denny, from the University of Tasmania, released a report into the state’s changing workforce last month, and it showed that the healthcare and social assistance sector had become the biggest contributor to employment in 2016.

Manufacturing dropped outside of the top five in the number of jobs, falling from third to seventh place since 2006, with a loss of 6316 jobs in that time. Education and training replaced manufacturing in third place, with retail in second.

Ms Denny said the decline in men’s employment and rise in women’s was a result of the changing economy.

“That’s been predominantly driven by the changing or the restructure of our economic base away from traditional industrial manufacturing type jobs which typically employ men typically on a full-time basis to an industry base which is dominated by services,” Ms Denny said.

“Our growing tourism sector is a predominantly casualised workforce in retail, accommodation and food services that tends to be dominated by female workers.”

Ms Denny said there was also an increasing demand for people to have dual-income families to meet the cost of living across Tasmania.

One couple, Thomas Griffith and Louisa Fergusson, decided to open their own shop so they could share parenting of Hugh, 19 months, and working. They opened Tiny Footprints, an eco children’s store in Hobart, in early November.

Mr Griffith said they enjoyed the flexibility to balance their work and parenting responsibilities.

“It was a big decision but it wasn’t a very hard decision,” he said.