Australia Oil Jobs are past the recession

The central Governor of Australia's bank, Glenn Stevens, is under pressure to begin increasing interest rates, after a marked pause in the country's economy. The source of these demands is a declaration that Australia is officially beyond the grips of the recent global recession.

Economic Changes

What is certainly making Mr. Stevens' stance more difficult to maintain is the news that Australia is experiencing the biggest jobs boom since 2005. The rate of employment has increased rapidly since October 2009, pushing levels of unemployment down to 5.3% - the lowest figures seen in almost a year. This is made even more palatable when you take into consideration the government's prediction that levels of joblessness would peak at around 8.5%. But how has the government managed to evade the disastrous effects of recession that has gripped so tightly in other countries across the globe?

Spend Money to Make Money

Prime Minister Ken Rudd decided to tackle Australia's impending economic crisis head on. In a bold move, he attempted to stimulate growth in the money markets by distributing more than A$20 billion in cash to consumers. In addition, he allocated a further A$22 billion to be spent on roads, railways and schools. At the same time, Governor Stevens reduced interest rates to the lowest figure seen in 50 years. A combination of these factors, plus the strength of Australia's dollar abroad seems to have had the rejuvenating effect that Stevens and Rudd were looking for.


What's the Effect?

The main boost seems to have been felt by the oil industry. With companies such as Chevron Corp. now looking for skilled workers to take up oil jobs and oil careers that were frozen during the recession, the tables are turning in favour of the employee. Because the oil industry decided to freeze jobs during the economic crisis rather than opt for redundancies, the demand for workers to fill oil rig jobs and drilling jobs has suddenly increased. This, in turn, means that potential employees are looking at a situation where they could conceivably command wages that have not been seen for some time. "The sting in the tail is that the job market is tightening, potentially causing employers to bid up for staff," said Craig James, a senior economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. To add credence to this statement, The Australian Broadcasting Company has reported that the Maritime Workers Union of Australia has secured a A$50,000 pay-increase over a three year period for workers at Total Marine Services Ltd.

In December of 2009, Chevron Corp. announced that it had signed a deal with Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co, to the tune of A£82 billion. This deal secured Chevron as the supplier of liquid natural gas from its fields in Wheatstone in Western Australia. This project is expected to create 6,500 oil jobs and oil careers, including drilling jobs and oil-rig jobs.
However, money market analysts are not convinced that this sudden bout of good news will convince Governor Stevens to increase the interest rates. Instead, it is thought that he will want to see a period of stability before increasing the cost of borrowing.

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Duncan freer - Director - offshore oil jobs and offshore gas jobs Search is a job site dedicated to the specific needs of candidates who work in the Oil and Gas industry. We also provide recruiters with an online service that is effective in terms of cost and ease of use.
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