Australian Geoscientist Employment: June 2016

The March 2016 quarter Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey revealed that employment prospects for geoscientists throughout Australia remained at highly depressed levels.

At the end of March, the unemployment rate increased from 18.7% at the end of December 2015, and the combined unemployed + underemployed rate increased from 42.1% to 42.9%.  Almost 60% of self-employed geoscientists were unable to secure more than one quarter of their desired workload during the quarter, pointing to a real unemployment rate of 33.3%. The combined unemployment and under-employment rate of 42.9% was a new highest rate recorded since the AIG surveys commenced in mid-2009.

The March 2016 survey showed that 49%, almost half, of Australia’s unemployed and underemployed geoscientists have been without work for more than 12 months.

In the past three months there have been growing but anecdotal signs of some improvement in mineral, coal and petroleum exploration activity.  Whether this has translated into real improvement in employment is what this latest survey in the series will assess.

Thanks to your support, this survey series is becoming regarded as an important indicator of not only geoscientist employment but the general health of the exploration and mining sectors in Australia.  The survey results are reported widely and used to promote and inform others of the health of an industry which is vital to Australia's economy.  Please support this ongoing initiative by taking a few minutes to complete this latest instalment in the survey series and encouraging your friends and colleagues to do so.  

You do not need to be an AIG member to participate.  

Please note that no data that could personally identify respondents is collected by this survey.  

The few minutes of your time spent completing the survey really helps to make a difference to the standing and knowledge of our profession.