The latest report from WoMEDA is focused on employment in the west. And it’s good news!
WoMEDA (West of Melbourne Economic Development Alliance) bills itself as a ‘unique platform dedicated to unlocking the economic potential in the West of Melbourne’. The Alliance includes the CEOs of western suburbs councils, Greater Western Water, Western Health and (of course) our beloved VU.
Its latest employment research shows that the west of Melbourne has experienced a rapid surge in employment, with an increase of 100,000 jobs in just six years. The region has emerged as one of the strongest labour markets in Victoria with its residents now accounting for one sixth of Greater Melbourne’s total workforce.
So where did all these jobs come from?
The report’s major author, Professor Janine Dixon, Director of the Centre of Policy Studies at Victoria University, says “the growth of health care and social assistance is a major nationwide trend, but the west of Melbourne has grown its share of jobs in this sector.”
There has also been significant growth in local industries such as transport, warehousing, health care and social work
However, the growth in health care and social assistance employment is offset by low growth in industries such as logistics, manufacturing and construction which have a high share of local employment.
There are, however, some positive signs for manufacturing. Bucking a consistent six-year decline in manufacturing employment opportunities in the west of Melbourne, the Centre of Policy Studies has forecast that the industry will grow by 2,500 jobs across the next decade.
The daily commute is costing us jobs
Chair of WoMEDA, Professor Peter Dawkins says “It’s great to see such high levels of employment in the west of Melbourne, it’s a relatively young population with a lot to offer. However, there is still a very high rate of commuting.”
“While increased rates of working from home have eased some of the pain, it still impacts labour market participation and productivity,” he says. “We argue the need to commute should be reduced through policies aimed at growing jobs inside the region.”
The report states that almost half of employed workers in the western suburbs commute to work with 32 percent regularly travelling to the CBD.
Despite a population of nearly 1 million people, Melbourne’s west has only three metropolitan train lines, still relying heavily on V-Line regional trains, resulting in tough commutes that appear to disproportionately impact women.
The report also found that there is a 10 percent gap between the female and male employment-to-population ratios for the region, compared with a 7.6 per cent deficit for Australia as a whole. The need to commute to work is cited as a potential cause of this gap alongside the challenges in finding affordable childcare.
Executive Director of WoMEDA, Aisha Nicolay, says that the gender gap is of serious concern. “The level of commuting and challenges in securing affordable childcare are two of the most likely causes of the gender gap in labour market participation in Melbourne’s west”.
