Job opportunities in the finance industry dropped nearly 10% over the Royal Commission and predictions suggest they could continue to drop in 2019 as demand for finance professionals drop.
The Sunsuper Australian Job Index showed that overall the permanent job market rose 11.4% in the last 12 months.
But financial services was the weakest performing industry of 2018, with a 9.6% drop year-on-year.
Sunsuper’s chief economist Brian Parker said it comes as little surprise that financial services was the worst performing industry in 2018 when it came to employment demand.
“The Royal Commission and its aftermath seem to have an ongoing impact on employment demand and career opportunities in the sector,” said Parker.
“The only comfort from these results is that demand started to stabilise in the last quarter of 2018, growing 1.6%, suggesting that the worst may be over and some rebuilding may occur in the year ahead.”
According to job board Indeed’s economist Callam Pickering jobs in the finance industry are not expected to pick up any time soon.
In a blog in December he said the finance, real estate and construction industries had to contend with widespread decline in property prices.
Pickering added, “Falling prices in Sydney and Melbourne, along with weakness across most other capital cities, have left home owners and investors feeling gloomy.
“The fallout from the Royal Commission looking into misconduct in banking and financial services, along with softer investor demand and subdued wage growth, point toward further falls in the year ahead.”
He continued, “Residential construction has already started to contract, according to the Australian Industry Group, although a lack of opportunity in the residential sector may be offset by more commercial opportunities.
“Real estate employment may begin to decline as sales and commissions dry up, while lower borrowing activity and tighter regulation could hamper employment in the financial sector.”
