• Member Login
  • |
  • Join Now
PESA - Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia

Promoting Professional and Technical Excellence in Energy Geoscience - Networking, On-going Professional Education, Monthly Technical Meetings

  • Home
  • About
    • Objectives
    • PESA History
    • PESA Affiliates
    • Financial Protocols
    • Constitution and Rules
    • Strategic Plan
  • Events
    • Online
    • ACT
    • QLD
    • SA / NT
    • VIC / TAS
    • NSW
    • WA
    • Industry Events
    • Social Events
    • Past Events
  • Memberships
    • Join Us
    • PESA Membership Awards
  • Latest News
    • Feature Articles
    • Industry
    • Company Updates
    • Tech Talk
    • PESA Branch Activities
  • Library
    • Technical Library
    • PESA News Magazine
    • Knowledgette Recordings
  • Scholarships
  • Employment
    • View Job Opportunities
    • Submit Job
  • Contact
Feature Articles
Industry

Geoscientist employment opportunities continue improvement despite June quarter slowdown

By Dale Granger | 16/09/2019

16/09/2019 by Dale Granger

share
share
tweet

Employment opportunities for Australia’s geoscientists continued to show a very slow-improving trend, despite disappointing results for the second quarter (April to June), an Australian Geoscientist Employment survey has established.

The second quarter setback saw unemployment rise from 7.5% at the end of March, to 9.3% at the end of June.

On the other hand, underemployment amongst self-employed geoscientists fell from 20.5% to 14.9% for the same period. The underemployment figure represents the proportion of self-employed geoscientists unable to secure more than one quarter of their desired workload.

The survey was completed by 734 respondents nationally. Some 66% of respondents worked or sought work in mineral exploration. A further 18% worked in metalliferous mining, while 5% of respondents worked or sought work in energy resource exploration and production.

Half of Australia’s geoscientists who are currently unemployed have been without work for more than 12 months. A similar proportion sees little prospect of regaining employment in their field in the year ahead. Almost one in ten unemployed geoscientists are looking to leave the profession, seeking more stable employment.

“The depressed employment prospects for geoscientists are a surprise given mineral exploration expenditure rose during the June quarter according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last week although mineral exploration drilling declined,” AIG President, Andrew Waltho said.

“There is little doubt that junior exploration and mining companies especially are experiencing difficulty raising capital to fund new exploration and producers are having to deal with considerable uncertainty and price volatility, at least partly due to trade tensions between the USA and China” Mr Waltho said.

“The increase in work secured by self-employed geoscientists is most welcome, especially in light of the sharp increase in under-employment observed in the previous survey,” Mr Waltho said.

“Long term unemployment is the big issue in these figures. Half of Australia’s unemployed geoscientists have been without work for 12 months or more, and a similar number see no new opportunities on the horizon,” he said.

“Professional institutes, including AIG, are doing whatever we can to help members remain in touch with their colleagues and peers and maintain their skills, but it’s pretty hard to remain motivated when industry conditions appear to be stagnant,” Mr Waltho said.

The employment situation varied significantly between states in the latest survey results.

The lowest levels of both unemployment and under-employment were recorded in Western Australia. Unemployment amongst professional geoscientists fell from 8.5% at the end of March to 7.8% at the end of June, while under-employment fell from 17.6% to 11.0% for the same period.
Victoria recorded the largest fall in the unemployment rate, from 11.8% at the end of March to 5.9% in June. Under-employment in Victoria also fell from 17.6% at the end of March to 14.7% at the end of June.

Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia all recorded increases in both unemployment and under-employment. Only a small number of responses were received from geoscientists working in the Northern Territory and Tasmania, which indicated near-full employment of small pools of local geoscientists.

Related Articles

Geo job prospects begin to brighten

02/11/2016

Light at the end of jobless tunnel for Geos?

08/08/2016

Geoscientist Employment improves in Australia despite Coronavirus Pandemic

18/08/2020

Geoscientist employment recovery stalls

20/03/2017

Show CommentsHide Comments

Become a Member

petroleum exploration society member badge

Join PESA now and enjoy full membership benefits

  • access to fully searchable technical library
  • extensive networking opportunities with industry leaders and peers
  • further professional education and training
  • and more!

VISIT MEMBERSHIP PAGE

Upcoming Events

Thu 28

PESA SA/NT Technical Luncheon: Is there any room for gravity in petroleum exploration? Let’s open the door again!

Thursday, 28 January @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Australia/Adelaide time)
Feb 09

LIVE WEBINAR – The Energy Transition – Challenges and Opportunities for the Oil and Gas Industry and its Professionals

Tuesday, 9 February @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Australia/Perth time)
Feb 18

PESA WA Technical February lunch talk- Spatial and Stratigraphic Controls on Burial Diagenesis and Reservoir Quality in the Triassic Mungaroo Formation

Thursday, 18 February @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm (Australia/Perth time)
Sep 15

Save the Date – AEGC 2021

Wednesday, 15 September @ 8:00 am - Monday, 20 September @ 5:00 pm (Australia/Brisbane time)

View all events »

View Upcoming Events By Branch

PESA Events by State PESA Events in Western Australia PESA Events in South Australia and Northern Territory PESA Events in Victoria and Tasmania PESA Events in NSW PESA Events in Queensland

(Click on the the map)

PESA MAGAZINE – LATEST EDITION

PESA News Issue 159

Previous Editions

Most Popular Posts

Popular Posts

  • CUE Permits NWS Ironbark exploration well delivers a disappointing duster
  • Shell’s Prelude resumes production after almost one year
  • Santos Building Adelaide Santos makes FID for Timor Sea drilling and expansion
  • Total Mozambique LNG Plant Total withdraws workers as attacks close in on Mozambique LNG project
  • Gippsland-Basin-Vic-P47 Emperor Energy given drilling extension for Gippsland Basin permit
  • Total Mozambique LNG Plant Mozambique soldiers repel insurgent attack on Total LNG project

Norwood Resources

the Norwood resource

PESA members please use this group to help with “social license to operate” issues.

Topics

Golf WA
PESA - Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia

The Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia is a non-profit association of individuals involved in the exploration of oil and gas.

Stay in the loop

Subsribe to our newsletter and stay on the loop of what is happening in the petroleum industry and events near you

 

 

Contributors
Dale Granger
Editor

Connect with us

Logo-2CRev-66px-TM
Copyright © 2021 PESA - Petroleum Exploration Society of Australia. All Rights Reserved.
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policies
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions