The prospects for workers are bright in the “robust” and diverse economy of western NSW, a champion of the region says.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Activity in the mining, agriculture and health and education sectors was triggering jobs growth, which was at 4.1 per cent nationally, Megan Dixon reported.
The Regional Development Australia (RDA) Orana executive officer also highlighted a falling unemployment rate as a sign the economy was going from “strength to strength”.
Updated figures indicated the Parkes electorate had the third-largest fall in its unemployment rate in Australia in the 12 months to December, down by 2.4 per cent to 3.8 per cent, according to the Department of Jobs and Small Business.
“We’re definitely on an uphill push at the moment,” Ms Dixon said.
“Some of it is triggered by the amount of public and private investment that’s occurring in the region as well.”
The region had a number of local government areas (LGAs) with unemployment rates sitting about 3 per cent.
“What we consider is those LGAs have full employment and the issue for them is actually our need to attract labour into the region to cater for the jobs growth,” Ms Dixon said.
“That attraction of labour into the region can be shifts within Australia but what we’re seeing more importantly for us is also migrant shifts.”
RDA Orana can assist employers with the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visa.
“Low unemployment rates indicate that there are more people already working so this scheme enables employers to sponsor skilled workers into positions which cannot be filled using the local labour market,” Ms Dixon said.
While some previously booming regional economies had slowed up, Ms Dixon was optimistic the region with Dubbo at its heart could avoid their fate.
“So I actually think that the Orana economy is really robust,” she said.
“We’re really fortunate in that we have several mines in the regions and where our fortune lies is that they are actually different commodities.”
They include coal, rare earths, gold and copper, which she reports “actually swing on different cycles”.
Agriculture also included different commodities, she said.
“Then we have a really vibrant and strong and growing health sector,” she said.
“And health has actually been a driver in some of the smaller communities as well, health and education.
“So that actually gives us, I wouldn’t go so far as saying that we’re shock-proof, but we’re a very strong economy because of that diversity that we actually have within and across the region.”