Mining resilient in face of COVID-19 jobs blow

Employment in Queensland’s resources sector has defied COVID-19 impacts with only a 1 per cent drop in direct jobs in the May quarter. The bigger picture for Australian jobs - painted by the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures - is a 6.5 per cent drop in employment between February and May (more than 800,000 people), while hours worked has decreased by 9.4 per cent. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the ABS labour force data showed direct jobs in Queensland mining moved from 66,331 to 65,337. “Jobs in the coal industry surged 15 per cent while exploration and mining support jobs bounced 7 per cent,” 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. “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. (See main image) The data released today also covered movements in employment and actual hours worked across industry divisions between February and May. (see chart below). The largest falls in employment were in the arts and recreation services (down 35 per cent) and accommodation and food services (down 31 per cent) industries. However, the decrease in actual hours worked was largest in accommodation and food services (down 24 per cent). Labour Force Survey data showed double digit falls in employment in information media and telecommunications (down 15 per cent), other services (down 11 per cent) and administrative and support services (down 10 per cent). It also illustrates the relatively small impact to the mining and construction sectors.

Mining resilient in face of COVID-19 jobs blow

Industry Queensland

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