The latest quarterly survey of geoscientist employment in Australia is open for contributions. AIG members are asked to complete the survey by following this link and encouraging friends and colleagues to also contribute. You do not need to be an AIG member to participate in the survey which is open to all geoscientists working, or seeking work in Australia.

This installment in this long-running survey series is designed to examine whether recent improvements in employment conditions for geoscientists throughout Australia have continued.  Geoscientist unemployment fell to just 4.5% nationally in the final quarter of 2020, but increased, contrary to anecdotal evidence, in the first quarter of 2021. 

Geoscientist unemployment in Australia in the first quarter of 2021 was 5.8%, up from 4.5% in the fourth quarter of 2020.  Underemployment increased slightly from 9.3% at the end of 2020 to 9.7% in the first quarter of 2021.  The increase in unemployment in the first quarter of any year is generally considered to reflect decreased exploration activity due to the Christmas-New Year holidays and the northern Australia wet season.  In this survey, however, the proportion of responses from self-employed geoscientists, or geoscientists in part-time and casual employment also fell.  These employment sectors are usually most affected by seasonal conditions.  State government responses to COVID-19 infections and continues to affect business confidence and planning in Australia.

The survey takes only two or three minutes to complete.  No data that could personally identify respondents is collected.

Contributions to the survey are sought from both employed and unemployed geoscientists to ensure the relevance of the results.

Your completing the survey really helps to make a difference to the standing and knowledge of our profession.

The survey will be open for contributions until Saturday, 31st July, 2021.  Every contribution adds to the reliability of the survey results.   Sincere thanks in advance for your support of this survey series. Again, follow this link to complete the survey.

2021 marks 40 years since AIG’s formation.  We are looking forward to 2021 being a strong year across many areas and issues affecting our profession.