From Domainfax:
The tide has clearly turned for the mining sector: not only are prices for many commodities on a tear, now the number of job vacancies within the industry is picking up.
But that’s not to say there’s going to be another mad rush to the mines in the hopes of scoring a $150k truck driving job like in the last boom.
Job vacancies have just picked up from their 2015 lows and are still well off the peaks from several years ago. On top of that, most of the vacancies are for temporary positions, underscoring a sense that this mini-boom could be over soon.
Still, it is a recovery, as CBA senior economist Michael Workman points out.
“Our view is that it is still a positive development in a sector with a strong cost control focus. It indicates that rising prices trigger an initial shift towards more temporary workers to expand output in the most cost effective manner,” he says in a note to clients.
Whether we’ll see more permanent positions in coming months will likely be determined by the sustainability of the recent price rises, he points out, adding that a higher Aussie dollar could “complicate” the employment decisions in the resources sector.
While the recent rises in coking and thermal coal prices have attracted most attention, rising gold and nickel prices have helped boost profits and employment.
“The upturn in mining‑related employment will add to the generally positive trend in national vacancy numbers translating to sufficient jobs growth to keep mild downward pressure on the national unemployment rate,” Workman says.
Workman also notes that the times of super-high salaries in the sector are also over.
“One of the outcomes of the significant decline in resource sector jobs is a major change in related wages costs that favours the employers,” he says, adding that mining wages growth is down to 1.3 per cent annually, the lowest since the series began in 1998.
There is a growing meme that miners have reduced costs as much as they can. Anyone who has lived through these cycle before looks at the fat still hanging around the bellies of the majors and laughs.
