Resources jobs steady, supported by coal: ABS

EMPLOYMENT in Queensland’s resources sector has defied COVID-19 impacts to local operations and overseas markets with only a 1 percent drop in direct jobs in the May quarter.

Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) labour force data showed direct jobs in mining moved from 66,331 to 65,337 reinforcing the industry’s role in the COVID-19 recovery would be just as important as it has been through the immediate response.

“Jobs in the coal industry surged 15 percent while exploration and mining support jobs bounced 7 percent,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“There is a lot of pain in other industries as the impacts of COVID-19 unfold and this data demonstrates the importance of the diversity in Queensland’s resources sector.

“To put these numbers into perspective in the three months to May, Queensland lost 184,367 jobs across all industries. That’s roughly equal to every Queenslander employed in the public service or twice the number of jobs in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

“Both the jobs preserved and created in this quarter flow through to indirect jobs in workshops and offices. Across Queensland the resources sector supports 372,561 indirect and direct full-time jobs.

“We want to keep employing more Queenslanders and supporting more regional communities through local investment. To do that, it’s essential that we have clear and transparent rules and regulations," Mr Macfarlane said.

“Jobs in the oil and gas industry fell by 23 percent while employment in the metals industry dropped by 8 percent.”

Nationally mining is listed by the ABS as the third least affected industry in terms of job vacancies over the quarter.

ABS data here.

www.qrc.org.au

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