Regional Australia has 45,000 job vacancies, with more available in some places than before coronavirus, data shows

Posted: 26th Sep

She's reluctant to use the word "empire" — but when it comes to business, Kerrieanne Nichols is a force to be reckoned with in Dubbo, in NSW's Central West.

She owns a hotel, a restaurant, cafe, and operates another two cafes and a bar under licence.

All up, she has around 50 staff.

But it's not enough.

"We're looking for four chefs [and] need up to probably another three housekeeping team," she said.

"We need a maintenance man. I'm looking for three more baristas. We would like some floor staff as well.

"There's definitely plenty of jobs in Dubbo."

Her businesses were hit hard by COVID-19 restrictions earlier this year.

She had to let go of some of her staff and close one of her cafes. But as things have started to recover, workers have been tough to find.

And with school holidays starting next week in NSW, she's worried.

"Now that the restrictions have lifted, it's much harder to actually gain staff," she said.

"We just won't have [the people] to be able to cope with the numbers visiting Dubbo."

 

 

The 'perennial problem'

For some parts of regional Australia, filling jobs is a persistent problem. COVID-19 or not.

"There is a perennial problem outside the capital cities and getting people to come and work in what are actually quite good jobs," Regional Australia Institute (RIA) chief economist Kim Houghton said.

Catch up on the main COVID-19 news from September 25 with our coronavirus blog.

The RIA uses Federal Government figures that track "internet vacancies" for job openings posted online by employers.

In August, there were more than 45,000 job vacancies posted in regional Australia.

That was 14 per cent more vacancies than in July.

 

 

And according to the data, in some regions there are actually more job vacancies posted now than there were before the COVID-19 economic slowdown.

"Those regions are generally places that are fairly strong in mining and agriculture industries," Dr Houghton said.

"And we've seen across this whole pandemic issue that those places have actually held up."

 

Busting the myth

Dubbo had 50 per cent more job vacancies in August this year than it had in August 2019, while the South West of Western Australia had 32 per cent more vacancies than a year ago and the Yorke Peninsula and Clare Valley in South Australia had 25 per cent more vacancies.

"The overall perception is that there aren't many jobs in regions and that we've been trying to, sort of, bust that myth," Dr Houghton said.

There has been speculation that the amounts paid under JobKeeper and JobSeeker could be discouraging people from looking for jobs.

In regions such as Mid North Coast of NSW, the JobKeeper payment amounts to 98 per cent of the region's median income, according to calculations from the RAI.

JobSeeker and the Coronavirus Supplement amount to 73 per cent of the median income.

But that doesn't explain the persistent jobs glut that existed before the pandemic. It seems a big part of the problem is the pull of Australia's urban areas — home to more than 85 per cent of the population.

Even in a pandemic, it takes more than just economic factors to lure people away from Australia's cities.

For Ricky Banks, a "born and bred city boy", moving to the regions has been an upheaval.

But as his business collapsed in Queanbeyan, near Canberra, the 32-year-old electrician said he had no choice.

"It was a big wake-up call [so] I decided to up my life and head to the country and try out my electrician skills on a new platform, I guess."

Two weeks ago he moved to Wellington, about 50km from Dubbo, to work on a solar farm now under construction.

 

 

He will be working 76 hours a week for at least the next 4 months.

"Yes, it's long hours. But do you want to sit at home being depressed and miserable? Or do you want to go out and actually go earn the money?"

For him, the hardest part was leaving his six-year-old daughter behind. She's still in Canberra with his former partner.

And as much as he appreciates the chance to earn good money, his daughter was the reason he would think twice about moving to regional Australia permanently.

"Change for little kids is always scary. Me moving away, that's scary for her, scary for me," he said.

 

Getting past the 'alarming upheaval'

Griffith University psychology professor Paula Brough said most people believed there were "more opportunities" in the city.

"Everything from social networks, to access to sports and culture, to perceptions about options for education all come into play," Professor Brough said.

"I think people just get used to having so much choice around them, so much busyness, that it can be quite a quite alarming upheaval to suddenly change your whole lifestyle."

Back in Dubbo, business owner Kerrieanne Nichols hopes more people follow Rick Banks's lead. And hopefully, stay for good.

"I think it's just not realising what regional can provide," she said.

"The good thing about if people were to move regional, it would give us a higher skill set.

"And I know that we're definitely crying out for skill set [and] there's so much to offer in the regions as well."

 

Thinking of making a move to regional Australia? Below is a list of regional Queensland communities needing your skills right now:

Work in Central Queensland

Shoalwater Bay Jobs

Capricorn Coast Joblink

Ipswich & West Moreton Jobs

Mackay Region Joblink

Scenic Rim Jobs

Outback Queensland Jobs

CQ Joblink

 

Source: ABC News - https://capricornenterprise.com.au/2020/09/shoalwater-bay-jobs-hub-kickstarts-capricorn-enterprises-work-in-central-queensland-platform/