The corona-virus outbreak has taken a sledgehammer to the Australian jobs market.
While unemployment increased only slightly in March, it looks likely that many more Australians will lose their jobs in coming months. The government’s own Treasury figures are forecasting an unemployment rate of 10% by the middle of the year.
Fortunately, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. After going into recession this year, most economists predict that the Australian economy will bounce back strongly in 2021.
What this doesn’t tell you, however, is which industries will suffer most and which ones will prosper. For some, such as travel and traditional retail, the short to medium term looks bleak. Others are already booming and will continue to grow.
If you find yourself out of work, here are a few industries to target once you start looking for a new job.
E-commerce
It’s no surprise that people are doing more shopping online during the lock-down. Amazon has put on 100,000 extra jobs to cope with increased demand.
This trend will outlive the crisis, as those who were yet to migrate online get used to the technology.
Among other things, there will be a need for more IT professionals, logistics experts and delivery drivers.
Home fitness and wellness
Demand for home exercise equipment, along with fitness and wellness programs, has gone through the roof.
While this will taper off after social distancing restrictions ease, these industries were already strong and will emerge even stronger.
Once again, this will see the need for ever more IT professionals, logistics experts and delivery drivers. Health professionals, fitness trainers and entrepreneurs will reap the benefits.
Pharmaceuticals
Big Pharma is spending huge sums on research and development in an attempt to find a viable treatment or vaccine for the corona-virus.
Already a booming industry, it is likely to see strong growth in coming years.
This will see more jobs for researchers, lab technicians, sales professionals, along with the full gamut of commercial and administrative staff.
Online education
Another sector set do extremely well in the short term and beyond is online education. There will be job openings for teachers and IT professionals, along with managers and administrative staff.
Consumer durables
It’s no secret that Australians developed an unhealthy fetish for toilet paper in the weeks leading up to the lock-down. Other consumer goods also sold well. The result was a spike in earnings for major players in the consumer durables industry, such as Unilever and Proctor & Gamble.
The sector is less vulnerable than most to crises and will continue to grow in coming years. This will bring jobs in areas such as R+D, manufacturing, logistics, transport, sales, marketing and management.
Mining
While the number of mining job advertisements fell by 24% last month, the industry looks set to recover strongly.
Apart from Oil, which has tanked like never before, commodity prices have generally held up well. With Chinese heavy industry now back to work and the Australian dollar low, demand for our resources is set to grow.
Apart from miners and machine operators, mining companies employ the full range of building industry trades, metallurgists, geologists and engineers. Given the dirty and occasionally dangerous nature of the work, most jobs pay well.
Agriculture
This is another industry that will benefit from a weak dollar and strengthening Chinese recovery.
Among other things, this will see openings for agricultural scientists and engineers, arborists, geneticists, food scientists and farm workers.