Queensland remains the nation's top-performing state on the jobs front, with 1.4% growth expected (21,379 new positions) between January 2004 and March 2004, according to Drake International's quarterly employment forecast.
National marketing manager Andrew Dingjan says the state is "going great guns right now. It enjoyed a solid year in 2003 with 1.4% growth in quarter one and 1.3% in quarter three, and this trend is certainly continuing".
According to Drake's research, 19% of employers intend to recruit this quarter.
Queensland's resources sector looks set to generate the greatest increase in jobs throughout all Australia with 7.5% growth.
"This may be due in part to the expansionary activities of mining giant BHP Billiton, whose numerous central Queensland coal operations are demanding a steady stream of talent at all organisational levels," he says.
At 6.3% growth, Queensland's construction Sector is the second strongest performer - a trend Dingjan attributes to the fast tracking of commercial and residential projects ahead of feared interest rate hikes.
The business services and information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) sectors will also are expected to perform strongly, registering 3.2% and 2.7% jobs growth respectively.
In line with other states and territories, IT looks set to make a strong come back in 2004, following the slump of recent years.
Queensland's other industry sectors will all perform well this quarter with jobs growth at or below 1%.
Manufacturing is the one exception, with Drake expecting this sector to record a decline of 1.9% and shed around 3,400 of its workforce.
"With material stocks at an all-time high, the flow-on effects of a buoyant property market to the manufacturing sectors will not be seen in Queensland this quarter," Dingjan says.
Between January 2004 and March 2004, Queensland will have a relatively high percentage of full-time recruitment at 70% compared with the expected average of 59.4% nationally. Drake expects 21.3% of positions to be casual/temp roles.
On a whole, the nation is expected to enjoy a 0.9% increase in employment (70,763 new jobs). In percentage terms, Victoria follows Queensland closely at 1.3% growth (27,955 jobs), while Tasmania continues to rally in third place at 1.1% (2,042 positions). New South Wales and West Australia are tied for last place at 0.4%.