Finance professionals and other skilled workers will enjoy increasing employment demand over the next five years according to a new report published by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

 

The Australian Jobs 2011 finds that ‘The Financial and Insurance Services industry is a relatively small employing industry, with 388 200 workers. Over the five years to November 2010, employment rose by 12 600 (or 3.3%). This growth was concentrated in the Insurance and Superannuation Funds and Finance sectors. Employment is expected to increase by 24 000 (or 6.2%) over the next five years, with all major subdivisions expected to expand.’

 

Other findings in relation to the Financial and Insurance Services sector include:

  • Relatively few people in the industry work part-time (18%) compared with all industries (30%).
  • More than half of the workforce is female (52%) which is higher than the all industries average (45%).
  • The industry also has a significantly younger age profile compared with all industries (29% of workers are aged 45 years or older compared with 38%).
  • The higher education sector plays an important role in the provision of skills for this industry, with around two in every five workers holding a Bachelor degree or higher qualification.
  • The majority of large finance and insurance companies operate from capital cities resulting in employment in this industry being highly concentrated in metropolitan areas.
  • Around 19% of workers (or 76 200 people) are employed in regional Australia, the lowest proportion of any industry.


The Financial and Insurance Services industry employs around 3% of Australia’s workforce. Not surprisingly, Sydney has the highest concentration of employment in this industry of any region, with 6% of its employment being in Financial and Insurance Services, followed by Melbourne (5%).

 

The report comes as the Reserve Bank of Australia forecasts a drop in unemployment rates from 4.9% to 4.2%.

 

The full report can be accessed here