The employment outlook has improved for university graduates according to economic policy Professor Peter Kenyon.
The Curtin Business School Professor said the demand for skilled labour was again on the rise in Australia.
‘The job market is definitely better than six months ago for graduating students,’ he said.
Professor Kenyon said continued population growth from interstate and overseas migration would lead to the creation of more jobs in the service industries.
‘Job prospects for graduates in service industries like health and education will certainly improve significantly,’ he said.
Professor Kenyon said Australia dodged some of the worse affects of the financial crisis and that WA was doing much better than other states.
‘We didn’t officially have a recession,’ he said.
‘A recession is defined by two successive quarters of negative growth and we haven’t experienced this, nor are we likely to do so in the near future.’
‘The WA economy is actually ideally placed for recovery because there has always been a demand for our commodities from Asia, and especially China.’
Professor Kenyon said graduates studying in mining related fields such as engineering, would also see their employment prospects improve.
According to Professor Kenyon, WA’s mining, and related service industries have played a major role in WA’s economic recovery.
‘Although the amount of people directly employed in the mining industry is small, the business activity that surrounds mining and mining related industries is huge,’ he said.
‘Numerically only a bunch of people work in the mines, but what we have to recognise is that they come back to Perth, and spend a lot of money, this boosts the economy and benefits other industries indirectly.’
