A quarter of employers in NSW stood down staff in August

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September 15 2021
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Recent lockdowns are beginning to bite, with data suggesting that one in four NSW employers stood down staff in August.

A quarter of employers in NSW stood down staff in August

Even if you didn’t lose work to Sydney’s lockdown firsthand, you probably know someone who did.

As per the National Skills Commission’s latest Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey, 11 per cent of Australian employers had staff stood down in August while another 19 per cent had staff on reduced hours.

The lockdown of NSW was a key driver of this trend, with one in four (or approximately 24 per cent) of employers in NSW reporting that they stood down staff in August.

A further 30 per cent of employers in NSW had staff on reduced hours.

“Within New South Wales, a much higher proportion of employers had staff stood down in Greater Sydney compared with the rest of New South Wales,” the report noted.

Thirty-four per cent of Greater Sydney employers said that they had staff on reduced hours, a figure that’s more or less in line with levels recorded in mid-2020. However, across the rest of NSW, that number was closer to 21 per cent.

A similar breakdown in data was seen in the level of employers that had staff working from home.

In Greater Sydney, 45 per cent of surveyed employers had their staff work from home. This put them 12 per cent higher than the average recorded in other capital cities, excluding Melbourne.

Outside the Greater Sydney area, however, the number of employers getting their staff to work from home fell to 26 per cent.

Naturally, Victoria echoed many of the trends seen in NSW.

While only 8 per cent of surveyed employers reported having stood their staff down, 25 per cent reported having staff on reduced hours. Greater Melbourne also recorded 45 per cent of employers letting staff work from home.

Employers in NSW also reported the lowest recruitment rate nationally at 25 per cent.

States with lower reported COVID-19 cases and looser restrictions reported much better on this front. Western Australia led at 52 per cent, while Queensland followed at 51 per cent.

Looking forward, the outlook is a bit more optimistic. While only 18 per cent of surveyed employers expect to increase their staffing levels over the next three months, it should be noted that this figure remained unchanged from the previous month.

The data released by the National Skills Commission aligns with similar trends seen in Seek’s latest look into the jobs market.

Seek managing director Kendra Banks noted that, “perhaps unsurprisingly”, states and territories under the strictest lockdowns saw a decline in job ad volumes, with New South Wales and Victoria recording the most significant drops.

Despite this downward trend, Ms Banks observed that Australia’s job ads were up relative to previous years.

Taken in that respect, August 2021 represented a 55.9 per cent increase in job ads compared with August 2020 and a 15.2 per cent increase compared with August 2019.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

About the author

Fergus is a journalist for Momentum Media's nestegg and Smart Property Investment. He likes to write about money, markets, how innovation is changing the financial landscape and how younger consumers can achieve their goals in unpredictable times.

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