Employment in Australia’s mining sector lifted to the highest level in seven years, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Data for the three-month period of September to November last year also showed employment in the coal sector rising to its highest level and record iron ore exports supporting the industry.

The number of people employed in mining jumped to 264,000 at the end of November, up from 240,600 at the end of August, and above the 251,900 for the same period in 2019.

It was the highest number since 267,100 was recorded at the end of November 2013,

Employment in the Australian coal sector spiked to 62,000 workers at the end of November, from 49,600 at the end of August. 50,500 were employed in coal in November 2019.

Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt said the latest jobs figures have again confirmed the importance of the mining industry to Australia with a big increase in the number of Australians employed in the sector.

Minister Pitt said the figures are a testament to how crucial the resources industry has been to Australia in the COVID recovery, pointing to the coal industry’s employment rise.

“Coal mining was the standout during the quarter, jumping by 25 per cent to employ an extra 11,000 people and a total of 62,000 across the country,” he said.

“It’s also a 23 per cent increase over the year and is the most number of Australians employed in the sector since 2012, which is a phenomenal result and hardly an indication of an industry in decline as some activists suggest.

“Encouragingly, the recovery in oil prices in the second half of last year saw employment in the oil and gas sector increase by 13,000.

“Over one million Australians are also employed indirectly by the resources sector in everything from technical support to local corner shops.

“The resources sector has delivered for Australia at a time we needed, and I thank all in the industry who’ve kept the production lines running without skipping a beat to overcome the challenges of the global COVID-19 pandemic.”

Across the entire Australian workforce, seasonally adjusted employment increased by 50,000 people between November and December 2020, according to the ABS.

The number of employed people in Australia was 88,000 lower in December compared to March, but was 784,000 higher than May.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said this latest data showed that the broad recovery in the labour market had continued through to the end of the year.

“Employment finished the year 0.7 per cent below the March level, having fallen 6.7 per cent, or 872,000people, between March and May,” he said.

“Although employment has recovered 90 per cent of the fall from March to May, the recovery in part-time employment has outpaced full-time employment. While part-time employment was higher than March, full-time employment was 1.3 per cent below March.

“The recovery in hours worked has been slower than the recovery in employment.”

Big rise for coal

Minister Pitt also highlighted latest trade data confirmed the resilience of Australia’s resources sector with coal exports on the rise despite recent global challenges, increasing by 26 per cent from November.

“Coal was worth $3.7 billion to the Australian economy in December alone as exporters looked to fill gaps in international markets and made the most of the increase in thermal coal prices,” Minister Pitt said.

“In the middle of the northern hemisphere winter, it’s not surprising that thermal coal accounted for most of the increase to meet the demand from power utilities.

“The trade data also confirms that despite the global challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian resources and energy exports were valued at a phenomenal $272.5 billion in the 12 months to December,” Minister Pitt said.

“The result is a great testament to the work of our resources industry to maintain full operations throughout 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on many other industry sectors across the world.

“These results are also an encouraging sign that many countries are looking to resume industrial production as economies recover and that is good news for the Australian resources sector.”