Online job market poised to skyrocket SUPRATIM ADHIKARI THE...

Online job market poised to skyrocket

• SUPRATIM ADHIKARI
• THE AUSTRALIAN
• JUNE 23, 2015 12:00AM

Online talent platforms are tipped to offer millions of new jobs Source: Supplied
The sharing economy may have its critics, with ride-hailing app Uber the lightning rod for opprobrium, but the prominence of internet-enabled marketplaces — connecting talent with opportunity — is set to rise.
According to a report from professional services firm McKinsey & Company, online talent platforms stand to deliver $2.7 trillion to global GDP and increase employment by 72 million full time equivalent positions over the next 10 years. For Australia, the platforms are set to deliver up to $28 billion to Australia’s GDP by 2025, the report states. They are impressive numbers and a lot of it is predicated on how these platforms increase participation in the workforce.
From websites linking individual resumes with job postings from traditional employers to digital marketplaces for services, such as Uber and Upwork, the opportunity lies in addressing the dysfunction in matching jobs and workers. Then there’s the issue of under-utilisation, with 30 to 45 per cent of the working-age population globally either unemployed or working only part-time.
Australian online talent platform LiveHire’s founder Mike Haywood says an open, transparent work market is the simplest way to bring fluidity in the space, remedying the way people apply for jobs and letting employers get the talent they want efficiently.
According to Mr Haywood, current structures limit the opportunities available to the unemployed and to new entrants to the workforce.
The McKinsey report says in the medium term, talent platforms could reduce public spending on unemployment by at least 9 per cent. With the Australian government currently spending $1.3bn a year on job assistance services, Mr Haywood said the digitisation of the workforce — where jobseekers create profiles and participate in an online marketplace — needs to be prioritised.
“There is a hidden job market out there that accounts for over 85 per cent of placements (not via job ads), and unless the government takes steps to encourage a digitisation of our working age population and participation in a more transparent labour platform, public spending on unemployment will continue to be wasted.”
Local online jobs outsourcing marketplace Airtasker’s CEO Tim Fung said the report highlights the rising cost and time inefficiencies in the traditional setup.
Online platforms are great enablers, Mr Fung said.
“They bring a more balanced dynamic into play and the transparency translates into flexibility for workers and a better economic outcome.”
The success of these platforms is contingent on expanded broadband access, updated regulations and clearer data ownership and privacy rules., the report warns.
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