Jobs Outlook: Finance

Finance jobs in Australia offer a vast range of options, considering you can work at many levels in almost any industry in the country.

The types of finance jobs on offer is only part of the appeal of working in this field, as these positions can offer excellent remuneration, upward pathways, and roles in locations almost anywhere in Australia.

If you’re thinking of starting a job search, it can help to know what’s happening in the industry right now, where it might be going next, and which roles are most in demand from employers.

The current finance industry in Australia

Financial services jobs have recently undergone a significant uptick in headcount in several areas; education, healthcare, aged care, and not-for-profits. As these areas have grown with their own employment, they have required additional services from financial and other professionals, with many of them offering new finance jobs in Sydney and around Victoria.

Overall, Seek has seen a 5.81 percent increase in advertised positions. However, candidates are increasingly looking to other methods, such as networking and alternative channels, to find new finance jobs.

Currently, there are roughly 420,700 workers employed by the Financial and Insurance services industry in Australia, making it one of the mid-range industries in the country.

These positions are well spread out amongst a variety of specific roles. For example, there were roughly 34,500 financial brokers in Australia in 2017, and almost 190,000 accountants.

The Australian Treasury adds that the country’s financial services sector is also the largest contributor to the local economy, bringing in approximately $140 billion GDP over the past year.

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Future forecasts for the Australian finance sector

Moving forward, full and part-time finance jobs look set to be on the rise.

The Michael Page Salary & Employment Outlook report suggests that those in finance roles will increasingly look to SME opportunities in the future. This represents a sidestep from a traditional finance or accountant role, where an employee begins at the bottom of a large corporation and works upwards. With SMEs, employees may find greater opportunities to be autonomous and learn a wider range of skills.

It’s also expected that many positions will “grow very strongly” in coming years. Job Outlook expects the number of financial brokers to increase from 34,500 to 40,200 by 2022, and the number of accountants to increase by roughly 13,000 in that timeframe.

Finance jobs in demand around Australia

Our Salary & Employment Outlook shows that the roles currently in demand include management accountants and financial analyst jobs.

Employers are looking for those with strong technical capabilities when it comes to accounting standards and compliance. Additionally, with 76% of companies willing to consider contracting, employers are looking to hire finance contractors.

The hardest roles to fill include those in insolvency and corporate recovery, and in business services and corporate advisory. Conversely, companies find lower-level roles such as assistant accountant positions the easiest to fill.

Finally, there is also demand for those with skills and experience in assurance roles and commercial risk.

When you’re ready to talk to one of the leading recruitment agencies in Australia about finance jobs, our team is ready to listen. Get in touch with Michael Page today.