What ABS Census Data Means for Marketing Recruitment

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released 2021 census data earlier this month with some interesting employment trends. You might remember taking the census survey during lockdown 2021.

Let’s take a deep dive into the employment data trends to try and make sense of our current job market.

Key Employment Trends

Australian’s are working less than they use. Data shows 38% of Australians worked a 40hour week compared to 45% ten years prior. 

Of those surveyed, 4 million work part-time and 7million full-time. And no surprises here, the majority of part-time workers are women.

Education

Many Australians are studying full-time or part-time. With 700,000 women undertaking full-time study and 115,000 men undertaking full-time study.

There are 1.1million Australians studying. Over half of Australians have vocational or tertiary qualification. This is in major contrast to the common wisdom we’ve found, with most Sydney-siders claiming you don’t need a degree to have a successful career. Why is the purpose of tertiary study? Is it expectation, pressure or lack of direction?

Of course, many jobs need qualifications but those that don’t have it as a requirement, leave us perplexed as to the increase in Masters and Bachelors qualifications. Was the pandemic a good opportunity for you to start or continue study?

Maybe there was an opportunity to start your career early or progress quicker with talent shortages and big changes to the marketing and advertising landscape. I’m personally a big advocate for work-integrated learning. At the time of the census I had the opportunity to engage in just that, albeit from home. Being able to study full-time and work in a related industry is an invaluable opportunity for university students to transition to full-time work, practice what they learn and find what they’re passionate about.

What does this data mean for the Job Market? 

Majority of people in NSW were working from home when the census was conducted and not much has changed. It’s clear that work from home and flexible work arrangements are here to stay in different capacities. Most companies operate on a hybrid structure and employees have increasing sway of work arrangements due to concerns around the pandemic and overall talent shortages.

A key difference between 2021 and 2022, is the return of people in Australia on Working Holiday Visas or returning to Australia after one. This is a key opportunity for organisations and agencies to snap up skilled marketing, digital and communications talent.

At Stopgap, we're looking forward to the return of 6month contracts for candidates on Working Holiday Visas. It's the perfect opportunity to gain experience in a different industry or agency and explore Australia in your time off (if you're looking for weekend getaways just ask our consultants).