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Today saw the release of the industry employment data for the August quarter by the ABS. The ABS provide the regional data as a 4-quarters average; we prefer the more timely Conus Trend which is created using the dis-aggregated individual quarters.
Looking at Cairns we see the main growth sectors over the past year have been Retail (+2,200) and Healthcare (+1,600) while Construction (down 2,300) and Education (down 1,600) are the main losers. The increase in the Retail sector is a welcome recovery although we are yet to return to the highs seen in late 2009.
Healthcare, the regions largest employer, continues to move ahead albeit at a somewhat slower pace.
Given the spate of very visible construction going on in the CBD it may be a surprise to see the Construction sector continuing to decline. However, while the CBD major projects are certainly a welcome sign, the construction sector across the region is much more than these large scale projects. Residential construction remains muted although some major unit projects due to start soon are likely to see this picture change in coming quarters.
Another sector which is perhaps surprising, given the supposed tourism boom underway, is Accommodation and Food which continues to anguish at levels well below historical highs.
While Public Admin employment has continued to increase across the State (and particularly in Greater Brisbane) Cairns has seen a slight decline across recent quarters.
The full Conus Regional Industry Employment data series is available on request.
We are proud to have CBC Staff Selection as supporters of the Conus/CBC Staff Selection Trend Employment and Jobseeker data series