No Borders Migration Advocates 1Tassie Jobs Crisis
June 16th 2008 00:59
TASMANIAN small businesses are facing a desperate struggle to find staff as the state's unemployment rate hits an all-time low.
Also, they are having to pay higher wages to retain the workers they do get in a market favouring job-seekers.
With unemployment at 4.4 per cent, the critical staff shortage, particularly in trained workers, has become a huge impediment to growth, the business sector says.
While the job figures are good news for the nation's jobseekers, it comes with a dark side.
Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Damon Thomas said the lack of people looking for work had been the single biggest impediment to Tasmanian business for 16 consecutive quarters.
Ali and Linda Youssef, owners of Hobart cafe Trocadero, said trained or trainable hospitality staff were so difficult to find that their "staff wanted" sign had become a permanent fixture in the front window.
Mrs Youssef said most people she knew in her industry were having trouble finding staff or were being forced to pay higher and higher wages to keep the ones they had.
"We've tried everything -- agencies, ads in the paper, everything -- but the agencies often send you people who just don't want to do the job," she said.
"They only apply for work because they have to keep their welfare payments. Once you hire them, you have to put up with them for as long as it takes to replace them."
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures out last week showed Tasmanian unemployment at a record low 4.4 per cent in May, down 0.1 per cent on the previous month, and below South Australia (4.8 per cent) and New South Wales (4.5 per cent).
The number of people with jobs increased 900 to 233,300 -- the highest monthly employment growth in the nation.
But the worker supply issue was a problem for Tasmania, Mr Thomas said.
"It is a severe constraint and there is a serious participation problem, a lack of skilled people and a lack of people altogether," he said.
"A lot of businesses don't even bother to advertise for staff any more because they know they won't find the people they want."
Mr Thomas said there were about 150,000 people of working age who were not in the workforce but there was no easy solution because the problem had roots in education, skills training, demographic and disability issues.
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake said that in a sense it was a nice problem to have.
"Compared with the problem Tasmania has endured for the last few decades of having excessive unemployment and people leaving the state to get jobs they couldn't have at home, I think I would rather have the problem we have now than the one we used to have," he said.
"It's a by-product of success in a way."
Mr Eslake said potential solutions could include businesses being more flexible about wages, hours and conditions, hiring people they normally might not have considered, offering more training and increasing immigration from abroad and interstate.
Other city cafes reported problems similar to the Trocadero, either being unable to fill vacancies or ending up in bidding wars with other businesses to keep staff from being poached for higher pay.
Adding to the problem, employers are noticing an increase in the number of job applicants who fail to turn up for interviews, and those who accept jobs but are then unable to do the tasks required.
"This is a small business and when you're short staffed you're tearing your hair out because then you have to do all the work yourself," Mrs Youssef said.
"It's like they're doing you a favour when they turn up for work sometimes. You offer them top dollar and then someone else offers them more money and you are forced to offer more money again.
"We've been here about 2-1/2 years and we've turned over about 50 staff in that time because they just don't stick around."
The same problem is being experienced in varying degrees in other sectors, such as clothing and retail.
Workskills employment agency general manager Norm Adamczewski said the issue was essentially one of supply and demand.
"Anyone with specific skills is usually already employed or not registered with us because they already have easily saleable skills," he said.
"And some people miss out on jobs because they don't have sufficient skills in selling themselves."
Mr Adamczewski said part of the problem was that with Tasmania's unemployment rate at its lowest in more than 20 years, many of those not employed were either long-term unemployed or difficult to place for a variety of reasons.
Article from: The Mercury; By Tim Martain
June 15, 2008
Also, they are having to pay higher wages to retain the workers they do get in a market favouring job-seekers.
With unemployment at 4.4 per cent, the critical staff shortage, particularly in trained workers, has become a huge impediment to growth, the business sector says.
While the job figures are good news for the nation's jobseekers, it comes with a dark side.
Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Damon Thomas said the lack of people looking for work had been the single biggest impediment to Tasmanian business for 16 consecutive quarters.
Ali and Linda Youssef, owners of Hobart cafe Trocadero, said trained or trainable hospitality staff were so difficult to find that their "staff wanted" sign had become a permanent fixture in the front window.
Mrs Youssef said most people she knew in her industry were having trouble finding staff or were being forced to pay higher and higher wages to keep the ones they had.
"We've tried everything -- agencies, ads in the paper, everything -- but the agencies often send you people who just don't want to do the job," she said.
"They only apply for work because they have to keep their welfare payments. Once you hire them, you have to put up with them for as long as it takes to replace them."
Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures out last week showed Tasmanian unemployment at a record low 4.4 per cent in May, down 0.1 per cent on the previous month, and below South Australia (4.8 per cent) and New South Wales (4.5 per cent).
The number of people with jobs increased 900 to 233,300 -- the highest monthly employment growth in the nation.
But the worker supply issue was a problem for Tasmania, Mr Thomas said.
"It is a severe constraint and there is a serious participation problem, a lack of skilled people and a lack of people altogether," he said.
"A lot of businesses don't even bother to advertise for staff any more because they know they won't find the people they want."
Mr Thomas said there were about 150,000 people of working age who were not in the workforce but there was no easy solution because the problem had roots in education, skills training, demographic and disability issues.
ANZ chief economist Saul Eslake said that in a sense it was a nice problem to have.
"Compared with the problem Tasmania has endured for the last few decades of having excessive unemployment and people leaving the state to get jobs they couldn't have at home, I think I would rather have the problem we have now than the one we used to have," he said.
"It's a by-product of success in a way."
Mr Eslake said potential solutions could include businesses being more flexible about wages, hours and conditions, hiring people they normally might not have considered, offering more training and increasing immigration from abroad and interstate.
Other city cafes reported problems similar to the Trocadero, either being unable to fill vacancies or ending up in bidding wars with other businesses to keep staff from being poached for higher pay.
Adding to the problem, employers are noticing an increase in the number of job applicants who fail to turn up for interviews, and those who accept jobs but are then unable to do the tasks required.
"This is a small business and when you're short staffed you're tearing your hair out because then you have to do all the work yourself," Mrs Youssef said.
"It's like they're doing you a favour when they turn up for work sometimes. You offer them top dollar and then someone else offers them more money and you are forced to offer more money again.
"We've been here about 2-1/2 years and we've turned over about 50 staff in that time because they just don't stick around."
The same problem is being experienced in varying degrees in other sectors, such as clothing and retail.
Workskills employment agency general manager Norm Adamczewski said the issue was essentially one of supply and demand.
"Anyone with specific skills is usually already employed or not registered with us because they already have easily saleable skills," he said.
"And some people miss out on jobs because they don't have sufficient skills in selling themselves."
Mr Adamczewski said part of the problem was that with Tasmania's unemployment rate at its lowest in more than 20 years, many of those not employed were either long-term unemployed or difficult to place for a variety of reasons.
Article from: The Mercury; By Tim Martain
June 15, 2008
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