The survey can be accessed here. The survey will be open for contributions until 16th July 2016. You do not need to be an AIG member to participate.
It takes only a minute or two to complete and collects no personally identifiable data.
The latest Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey is collecting data for the second quarter of 2016 (1st April to 30th June). This is the latest installment in the survey series which commenced in June 2009.
The March 2016 quarter Australian Geoscientist Employment Survey revealed that employment prospects for geoscientists throughout Australia remained at highly depressed levels.
At the end of March, the unemployment rate increased from 18.7% at the end of December 2015, and the combined unemployed + underemployed rate increased from 42.1% to 42.9%, a new highest rate recorded since the AIG surveys commenced.
Almost 60% of self-employed geoscientists were unable to secure more than one quarter of their desired workload during the quarter, pointing to a real unemployment rate of 33.3%. The survey also revealed that 49%, almost half, of Australia’s unemployed and underemployed geoscientists have been without work for more than 12 months.
In the past three months there have been growing but anecdotal signs of some improvement in mineral, coal and petroleum exploration activity. Whether this has translated into real improvement in employment is what this latest survey in the series will assess.
Thanks to your support, this survey series is becoming regarded as an important indicator of not only geoscientist employment but the general health of the exploration and mining sectors in Australia. The survey results are reported widely and used to promote and inform others of the health of an industry which is vital to Australia’s economy. Please support this ongoing initiative by taking a few minutes to complete this latest instalment in the survey series and encouraging your friends and colleagues to do so. Special thanks are also extended to members whose suggestions helped to refine survey questions for this installment in the survey series.
The few minutes of your time spent completing the survey really helps to make a difference to the standing and knowledge of our profession.
Please contribute to the survey by the 16th July 2016 closing date.
