housing shortage, worker shortage.

[Tonz]

I cannot get my head around all this

I understand Covid regulations forced/encouraged a lot to leave their chosen career path, so what are they doing today for work? buying up houses? no if they were there would be a lot of rentals available.

How does a pandemic cause such a huge hole in so many fields of employment?
" " " such a shortage of rentals?

I am not convinced the employment is because so many itinerants left.

so many questions

[BENT_8]

Heaps of people returned from living/travelling overseas as Australia was the place to be during the pandemic.
Pushed up demand for building, rentals, RV's and caravan park sites.
Add to this the fire and floods that have materials and resources tied up in NSW and QLD.

Probably find a lot of people at or nearing retirement chose that over being out in the community exposed to the possibility of getting Covid in the work place.

Our build was supposed to begin in March, still waiting.

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by Tonz

I cannot get my head around all this

I understand Covid regulations forced/encouraged a lot to leave their chosen career path, so what are they doing today for work? buying up houses? no if they were there would be a lot of rentals available.

How does a pandemic cause such a huge hole in so many fields of employment?
" " " such a shortage of rentals?

I am not convinced the employment is because so many itinerants left.

so many questions

Inflation is the culprit, we had them before and now we going through another cycle.
Covid, cost of every day living expenses rising, Ukraine war, floods here in Australia along with shortages of materials will have a big impact.

[Jastel]

Along with Aussies coming home, the backpackers are not here to do the essential but crappy jobs Aussies wont...fruit picking, cooks/waiters, cleaning/hospitality, nursing, customer service...

Many went on the dole/pension and have no plans to come back to work.

The coming high interest rates and inflation may bring some workers back.

[Ben73]

Yeah I don't get it.

Last government said we have the lowest unemployment in years, but there's jobs available everywhere and companies are short staffed.

I don't know if I believe the whole "backpackers are not here doing the ****ty jobs" idea. Why is it such a struggle to get skilled workers, like tradies? Every tradie seems to be flat out refusing work. Are they all out picking fruit?
Mate of mine has been working 60hr a week as a plumber and that's not including all the people hitting him up for cashies.

Lately I have had tradies full out ignore me when I have tried to contact them. A bit different from the days just 5 years ago where you would post a job on hi pages and have tradies offering quotes left, right and centre.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Jastel

the backpackers are not here to do the essential but crappy jobs Aussies wont...fruit picking, cooks/waiters, cleaning/hospitality, nursing, customer service...

On that point, be nice to the Aussies because alot of the times its the businesses that don't want Aussie employees.

Hervey Bay is very much a tourist town with plenty of produce being grown in the region.

Farmers want pickers with 500 years experience with proof of experience and references to back it up, otherwise you don't get a look in. Those that do get a job are employed on a casual piecemeal/quota arrangement.

If you don't pick your quota your booted. If you do you make quota you quickly find out you're working for $10 to $15 an hour. It's not worth the drive to and from for the job.

Hospitality/cook/cleaner jobs wont look at locals unless they have a Cert 3 or 4 in some random course. Seriously, who needs a Cert 3 in housekeeping or hospitality to wipe down a table or write down an order.

There are no such barriers for backpackers with paid incentives for employment and tax breaks for the backpackers and businesses. Businesses love them, and cant actually operate without them, because they end up paying a person 1/3 to 1/2 required to employ an Aussie. Sometimes less.

Many businesses work on a "treat em mean, keep em keen" arrangement with backpackers that they would not get away with when employing an Aussie under our laws.

Every 2 to 3 weeks I see articles in the paper about how farmers want pickers and they are paying $3000 a week. Absolute blatant lie.

[Citroënbender]

One of my occasional customers will be paying about $600 to get half a metre of internal render patched by someone I referred him to. Nobody dependable is going to look at it for less; they’ll see it as blocking out a day. At those rates, feel I should have almost put an invoice in for consultation.

[danzvtil]

I reckon after busting their chops for 2 and a half years, people have made the descision to not work 90 hours a week, plus now any worker who gets a sniffle automatically stays home. I waited for 15mins in a carls jr drive thru and asked the guy at the window why. He said there was only 2 staff (including himself) in the whole restaurant that day.
And we need to lay off poor aussies who wont go pick fruit. How can a person on centrelink leave their rented house for work in a regional town that might last only a few weeks?

[b0son]

Originally Posted by danzvtil

plus now any worker who gets a sniffle automatically stays home.

This is a big part of it. It's ridiculous. If we've 'opened up', that should mean lock stock and barrel, and covid is no longer treated like the black death. Yes, there are at-risk people in the population, but should everyone else continue to have to make allowances for covid, or should it be those affected? The health system is coping. Instead people have to isolate for a week, many times completely symptom-free.

[Citroënbender]

My last experience of A&E in Sydney, June 3rd in a public hospital, suggested they (NSW health system) aren’t coping. I watched an admitted person being cannulated in the waiting room. Every interim bed was full. Triage staff were stood by rather than continuing to see new arrivals when an ambulance was expected with an urgent case - there was 9/10 of no extra capacity.

Whether staff are genuinely unwell, or burnt out, or following what are slightly odd rules wrt the actual Covid situation, I don’t know. But it contrasted quite poorly with my admission last November to the same facility. As someone who prefers to be a “doer” and not a “watcher” it was unhappy to be in a position where I could not help, I wasn’t even in a state to distract nervous arrivals with idle conversation.

[arm79]

It's a very weird situation we find ourselves in at the moment.

In the bubble that is Hervey Bay and surrounds, we have a massive housing shortage. But it was mostly caused by "wealthy" transplants from Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.

During covid Hervey Bay was not under any sort of lockdown, worst we had was a mask requirement for 2 weeks. So it was very attractive place to be for a lot of people. And boy, did those people come.

Half way through the pandemic people desperate to get away from lockdowns were buying houses sight unseen at stupid prices. People would jump on a plane from Sydney, look at 2 or 3 houses, and buy one before catching a flight home later that day.

Mum and Dad bought here at the start of the financial crisis for $580k, even then that was a $200k haircut on the asking price. It was revalued by the bank and real estate agents at the end of 2019 for the same $580k, but it had dipped below that in the decade in between. 5 to 6 months ago it was revalued for between $1m to $1.1m.

If this house was in Sydney or Wollongong it's sale price would start with a 2.

Friends who bought a simple house and land package on 800m2 for $340k in 2018 sold it 3 years later for $560k. Should have held on another year for an extra $100k to $150k.

And that's what's happened everywhere here. New tenancy laws which remove all rights from the landlord are due in soon and landlords have sold up quick smart at massive profits before they start having trouble. Blocks of land that were empty for decades are now sold with construction already started.

Unfortunately this has lead to a massive homeless population. People who were paying $250 a week rent now are being demanded $400 to $500. People who have been kicked out because their house got sold cant find another for lack of supply or completely priced out the market.

One lady on the local FB pages claims she is part of a family of 4. Husband runs a business, she's a professional and 2 young teen kids. They have been couch surfing, caravanning or tenting for over a year. Said they can afford $600 a week rent and have applied for over 100 rentals with no success, let alone a reply.

Mini tent cities by the community centre are common.

Dad's yearly revenue is up 45% above average this year. He's never done so many big jobs for people in a year.

Then we come to the point where all those wealthy people who overpaid for their properties are doing reno work. Sparkies, plumbers, chippies are in big demand.

The sparky in Dads complex has nearly 500 outstanding booked jobs. He's now turning away work, something he said he's never done. He cant find extra sparkies and has some leave to setup their own business. Recently sold 2 of his vans because he cant staff them.

My neighbour had a kitchen reno done but had a hiccup between the plumbers and cabinet guy and missed getting the plumber out to hookup the sink tap. So he rang around and asked for someone driving by to stop in and hookup the kitchen mixer and thats it. Cheapest price was $400.

I've never heard this before, but the guy next door to Dad's shop is shutting down because he is too successful. He runs a mobile windscreen business and can't keep up with work. He's working 6 full days a week, has enough work for 2 more people but cant find anyone. He's had enough of the hours and abuse from people he cant service, so is shutting down and travelling Australia.

Local Holden dealership turned into a Merc, Subaru, Renault and LDV dealer. They appear to be killing it.

But the trippy thing is, most of the people moving here are families. Not retiree's, as is the norm, but Mum and Dad and their 2.3 kids. But there is nothing here for them. There is no business, nothing professional. Just tourism, aged care and hospitality.

The only way I can explain it is we are in some weird bubble where people have been hiding an absolute sh*tload of cash under their mattress and they are out spending it. All at once.

Be interesting to see what happens when this bubble bursts and people see themselves very over extended. Mostly with mortgages that are far in excess of the property value.

[Jastel]

Harvey Bay not special...like that everywhere...people fleeing the city for the regions but then whinging they cant get "City Service".

The number of times I have heard "You should get more (insert job title here)"

Really??? Gee thanks Genius...I didnt think of that!

[Citroënbender]

Whatever “City Service” is, unless it’s a long wait followed by overpricing, you can’t get it in Sydney either.

[Tonz]

[QUOTE=Jastel;6717608]Harvey Bay not special...like that everywhere...people fleeing the city for the regions but then whinging they cant get "City Service".

The number of times I have heard "You should get more (insert job title here)"

Really??? Gee thanks Genius...I didnt think of that![/QUOT

Around here when a business or shop closes, FB lights up with whats going into --------
std replies are bowling alley, submarine base, monorail station, , places that have nothing to do with a city of 14,000 and the crazies believe it everytime

[Citroënbender]

The standard response to that discussion in Launceston was “JB HiFi”. But most would have been happy with Krispy Kreme as well!

[roKWiz]

Most building tradesmen have certainly been affected by this current wave of shortages of (made) materials. Seems anything manufactured is in short supply, fortunately (for me) stuff like natural quarry stone is plentiful atm.

Like quite a few other rare trades its got to the stage where you no longer need to take on large projects as the smaller ones are paying better dividends anyway.

[Ben73]

Now it’s being said NSW might have a power shortage tonight and it’s unknown if there will be blackouts. WTF is wrong with this country. My dad lives in a third world country and has to deal with random unexpected blackouts. Good to see Australia is heading the same way.

Hurry up and close the rest of Liddell power station. That will give us more power.

[arm79]

Originally Posted by Ben73

Now it’s being said NSW might have a power shortage tonight and it’s unknown if there will be blackouts. WTF is wrong with this country. My dad lives in a third world country and has to deal with random unexpected blackouts. Good to see Australia is heading the same way.

No more Covid. Monkeypox is waning off. Just the media doing its scaretactic thing with a new bone.

They tried it here on Monday night/Tuesday morning. Roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of the town was without power for around 12 hours. Locals were up in arms on FB. The end of the world is coming, we've run out of power, the sky is falling. Then the media got in on it, fuelling the fire.

Turns out explanation was far more simple and less fun, a pole transformer had shorted and caught fire.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Jastel

people fleeing the city for the regions but then whinging they cant get "City Service".

Get that here.
1 train every 5 hours to Melb or Albury ! Perfect at keeping commuters away.

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by Jastel

…The number of times I have heard "You should get more (insert job title here)"

Like steampunk-themed doggy day care? Got to be a winner.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Like steampunk-themed doggy day care? Got to be a winner.

There's Shampoochies in Benalla for that.

[Citroënbender]

The constructors will still be holding out for $1.4M-plus per dwelling, despite this quality of workmanship. I miss the good old days when an architect would storm in, and literally start tearing down fresh work.

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

The constructors will still be holding out for $1.4M-plus per dwelling, despite this quality of workmanship. I miss the good old days when an architect would storm in, and literally start tearing down fresh work.

image

I see the 1st year apprentice stepped in.

Can't say I've ever seen an architect storm anywhere.