Department of Employment predicts spies, psychologists, adventure guides to be in demand by May 2023

Psychologists, adventure tour guides, masseurs and even spies have been revealed as the jobs of the future by the Australian government.

With wages growth remaining flat, the Department of Employment and Skills has predicted which occupations were the most likely to see an employment surge in coming years.  

It made the predictions as the Reserve Bank of Australia blamed public sector wage caps, low productivity and technology for stagnant salaries, adding they would remain subdued for a while.

Intelligence and policy analysts were expected to be the biggest growth area, with the Department of Employment projecting a 36.5 per cent increase, translating into 10,700 positions, in the five years to May 2023.

The rise of China, cyber security fears and the threat of terrorism could see the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, based in Canberra, embark on a major recruitment drive. 

In an increasingly uncertain world, behavioural psychologists were expected to be in higher demand, with the number of jobs expected to increase by 30.2 per cent.

Interestingly the number of psychiatrists, who prescribe drugs to treat mental illness, was expected to fall by 0.1 per cent as no new positions were created.

A weak Australian dollar was expected to boost international tourism and demand for outdoor adventure tour guides, whose numbers were expected to rise by 26.5 per cent.

In a world of perhaps rising stress levels, massage therapists are expected to be in higher demand, with their numbers set to rise by 20.2 per cent ahead of finance brokers (19.7 per cent), anesthetists (16.6 per cent) and authors (14.8 per cent).  

In an increasingly uncertain world, behavioural psychologists were expected to be in higher demand, with the number of jobs expected to increase by 30.2 per cent

A weak Australian dollar was expected to boost international tourism and demand for outdoor adventure tour guides, whose numbers were expected to rise by 26.5 per cent

When it came to occupations going backwards, the number of television producers and presenters was expected to fall by 12.2 per cent as 1,100 jobs were lost.

Demand was also expected to fall for vocational education teachers, with their ranks tipped to decline by 15.3 per cent as 4,700 jobs were lost.

Across the economy, wages growth has been flat for more than five years, with salary levels failing to rise above the 2.5 per cent level since early 2014.

Salary increases halved between 2011 and 2017, to a paltry two per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s statement on monetary policy, released on Friday, predicted wage growth would not accelerate for another two years. 

‘Average earnings from the national accounts, which is a broader measure of labour costs, is expected to be growing at a slightly faster pace than the wage price index by 2021,’ it said.

‘There are a number of other potential explanations for low wages growth, both in Australia and globally, including low productivity growth, and the effect of technological change and globalisation on workers’ perceived bargaining power.’

In a world of perhaps rising stress levels, massage therapists are expected to be in higher demand, with their numbers set to rise by 20.2 per cent

With one in six Australian workers in the public sector, RBA Governor Philip Lowe said state government policies to cap annual wages growth at 2.5 per cent was largely to blame for flat pay levels.

‘The wage caps in the public sector are cementing low-wage norms across the country,’ he told the House of Representative economics committee on Friday. 

‘The norm is now two to two-and-a-half per cent and partly that’s coming from the decisions that are taken by the state governments so I’m hopeful that at some point the budget positions will improve sufficiently that the state governments, even the federal government, will be able to lift their wage caps.’