RC hits financial services job opportunities

The September quarter saw a slight contraction in the national job market, with the Royal Commission impacting employment prospects in banking and insurance, with job opportunities in the sector falling 13.5 per cent in the last six months and 5.3 per cent in the last three.

“The sector was performing reasonably well until around this time last year when the Royal Commission was called, and this seems to have had a significant effect on employment prospects in the banking and insurance space,” Sunsuper’s chief economist, Brian Parker said, commenting on why the sector performed the worst of any in the Sunsuper Australian Job Index.

The Index fell by 1.6 per cent in the September quarter overall, with clerical and administrative roles also dropping 6.3 per cent. Professional job opportunities grew however, up 12 per cent from last September, with mining, construction and utility jobs also growing.

The ratio of permanent (72.2 per cent) to contingent (27.8 per cent) job prospects remained steady since last quarter. The growth of permanent demand, at 10.3 per cent, outstripped that of contingent demand, which grew only 1.6 per cent.

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Parker pointed to a strong employment market as a key cause of these results, saying that employers were confident hiring permanent staff as they looked to lock in skills and minimise talent shortages.