Engineering Recruitment, Engineers Recruitment, Engineering Employment, Engineering Professionals, Engineering Jobs, WA, Australia

While recently published indicators continue to show strong support for engineering employment in Australia’s resource rich states (see Rise in engineering employment and mining jobs, 15 June 2010) the less publicised E.L Executive Employment Index highlights a broadly flat result for May. This is a sharp retraction in overall management recruitment figures published earlier in the year, led by engineering jobs with a 10% decline over the previous month.

In an executive summary published on search firm E.L. Consult’s web site, Managing Director Mr Grant Montgomery points out that “Employment demand for executives is a good indicator of private sector confidence and has steadily increased since July 2009 but in May a [mere] 1 per cent increase shows this is falling.

“What's more is if the expansion of government sector executive employment is adjusted in the figures then there has been an general decline in executive employment for 3 months.”

Perth based engineering recruitment firm, JSM Appointments has recorded a drop in demand for recruitment in Lead Engineering and Engineering Management roles in WA, a trend confirmed by the E.L. index which itself shows that the “resource state of Western Australia was the main drag on the overall index, with Engineering and Financial executive demand the main contributors.”

Referring to the recession we never had, Montgomery cites declining stimulus spending, rising interest rates and a softening in market fundamentals as a real risk to Australia’s economic rebound. “Couple this with the tax uncertainty in the resource industry and China's reigning back of infrastructure and property investment to stem overheating and the three pillars that kept Australia out of trouble could collapse”

“The previously buoyant engineering employment sectors particularly in Western Australia and Queensland have pretty much collapsed.”

Excerpt from Executive Summary of E.L Executive Employment Index (June 2010 – www.elconsult.com)