From the Herald Sun:
THE FIFO cash cow is drying up, with workers willing to take a massive 27 per cent pay cut for a job in mining…New figures reveal that geologists are now willing to work for $52 an hour a substantial drop from the $71 an hour they were chasing a year ago.
Across a year, their annual salary falls from $140,000 to $103,000.
People looking for jobs in health, safety and environment have also dropped their asking prices significantly.
A year ago they were demanding $72 an hour. Now they believe they are worth $52 an hour.
Engineers have also dropped their asking price from $80.40 an hour to $70.70.
On average, the WA job seeker is now looking for $51.6 an hour down from $59.8 an hour this time last year.
Recruitment site FIFOBids director Mike Haywood said the live data gave a real insight into the WA economy in transition.
…”We’re seeing electrical and mechanical trades becoming more expensive and there is more demand for them now, and that reflects that there is probably a lot of construction going on, which tends to lead into operational roles down the track.”
This is one of the ways in which the falling national income that goes with a terms of trade correction manifests itself in the real economy. The others are tax rises as nominal growth pushes down the tax take and a falling dollar reducing the real purchasing power of the currency.
