Central Coast’s job market bouncing back as companies innovate
The coast has weathered the economic impact of COVID-19 better than most according to the latest jobs data. It comes as some innovative business have actually grown during the pandemic. CAN YOU OFFER A LOCAL A JOB?
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The number of jobs being advertised on the Central Coast has rebounded to almost pre-COVID levels while some of the hardest hit industries, such as hospitality, are back operating with staffing levels up to 85 per cent.
According to the latest Adzuna jobs data, there are 590 jobs being advertised on the coast with the most (176) in healthcare and nursing followed by 64 trade and construction jobs.
Those looking to resuming work in hospitality can be buoyed by the prospect of 52 jobs on offer, followed by 33 sales jobs, 30 retail positions and 22 logistics and warehousing roles.
The Adzuna data also reveals where employers are hiring with 83 jobs listed at Somersby, 60 jobs at Gosford, 35 at Blue Haven, 27 at Tuggerah, 18 at Erina, 11 at Lake Haven, 17 at Long Jetty and 13 at West Gosford.
While businesses are still hiring, new employment data shows the down side is it’s taking more people longer to find jobs.
In August last year, 3100 people were taking three months to a year to find a job, compared 5600 in August this year.
Business NSW regional director Paula Martin said according to the August labour data, the coast’s unemployment rate rose to 5.3 per cent from 4.5 per cent with the biggest losses in accommodation, food services, arts, recreation, transport and construction.
However she said this was not as high as other regional areas, thanks largely to “fairly diverse” industries.
Ms Martin said this included a “very robust food production and manufacturing” industry, which has led to an increase in jobs.
She said about 25 manufacturing companies pivoted and started making personal protective equipment and sanitiser during the height of the pandemic.
She said pre-COVID there were about 9000-10,000 people on unemployment benefits looking for work, which had ballooned to 20,743 people on JobSeeker payments.
She said since the pandemic there were a further 11,674 people on JobKeeper payments out of a workforce of about 110,000 people on the coast.
Few industries felt the brunt of COVID-19 lockdowns as much as hospitality, and registered clubs are a major employer of local jobs.
Mingara Leisure Group chief executive Paul Barnett said this time of year the club and its subsidiaries would normally be hiring casuals for end-of-year formals and recruiting for the busy summer period.
“It was not on our risk profile, a global pandemic,” Mr Barnett said.
“We had a few other things on there, not that.”
When the hospitality industry was ordered to close, Mr Barnett said they had to stand down about 480 staff before the government’s JobKeeper scheme was introduced.
“It was very stressful for us, as an organisation which cares about its people,” he said.
“By far the most stressful.”
But with restrictions easing he said staffing levels had bounced back and were now only down about 12-15 per cent of what they were pre-COVID.
However he said some staff had returned on reduced hours or had been redeployed to fill COVID marshalling and additional cleaning roles.
A Clubs NSW spokeswoman said sadly, some clubs were forced to shut their doors permanently off the back of a 60 to 70 per cent drop in food and beverage revenue and a concurrent 38 per cent fall in gaming revenue, year-on-year, in the six months to June.
“While two-thirds of NSW club employees have returned to work since the doors reopened on June 1, some 16,000 club employees remain stood down,” she said.
“In a recent survey, Central Coast clubs reported the following workforce figures at reopening: 74 per cent of all `business as usual’ staff were working, comprising 81 per cent of full-time staff, 97 per cent of part-time staff and 45 per cent of casual staff.”
Central Coast Industry Connect (CCIC) is an umbrella organisation to assist manufacturing and food production businesses and its CEO Frank Sammut said the challenge for the industry remained finding skilled staff such as machine operators.
He said most food and manufacturing businesses weathered the COVID tsunami fairly well because demand increased from supermarkets and online shopping, which off-set the decline from supplying restaurants and the hospitality sector.
For small start-up business The Marshmallow Co at Wyong, the pandemic simply meant evolve or perish.
Co-owner Joel Twyman said the fledgling business he started with his partner Breah Mayer had just hired two staff when COVID-19 hit, forcing them to close their desert bar inside the Chapman Building.
He also lost his job with a software developer.
Instead of rolling up the shutters for good, Mr Twyman said they turned online and began “offering shipping around Australia”.
With a country in lockdown, demand for sweet treats skyrocketed and when boutique shops ad cafes began to reopen, Mr Twyman said The Marshmallow Co found itself with “100 stockists around Australia” as well as selling direct to consumers online and at its reopened Wyong shopfront.
The growth has seen the company now employing a team of 10 people.
“The pandemic has been good for us,” Mr Twyman said.
“It’s forced us to act.”
