These Are The Australian Job Sectors Still Hiring During The Coronavirus Crisis

AUS JOBS

While hospitality and retail have been brought to the brink of collapse by government policies to stop COVID-19 from spreading, supermarket staff, call centre workers and delivery drivers are among the workers in demand.

BY LIN EVLIN

Federal and state government measures to control the spread of coronavirus have meant thousands of people are now losing their jobs around Australia.

The federal treasury estimates more than one million Australians will be forced onto welfare and economists expect the unemployment rate will jump to 11 per cent in the next few months as COVID-19 shuts down businesses.

But the unprecedented nature of the crisis has led to some industries hiring more workers in big numbers to meet increased demand.

Supermarket giant Woolworths Group announced on Friday it will hire up to 20,000 new roles to keep up supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The roles in its supermarkets, e-commerce, supply chain and drinks businesses are expected to be filled in the next month.

“These are uncertain times for many industries and we have an important role to play in keeping Australians employed through this crisis,” Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said in a statement. 

“These new roles will not only help us better serve the increase in demand we’re seeing in stores right now but also allow us to scale up home delivery operations in the months ahead.”

Woolworths also plans to offer up to 5,000 short-term roles to Qantas employees who are taking leave without pay, including more than 1,500 people in its distribution centres.

Services Australia last week said it would also be ramping up its capacity by 5,000 staff following days of long queues outside Centrelink offices, while Domino's Pizza is also hiring 2,000 ‘delivery experts’ to assist with anticipated home delivery demand in the coming months.

Industries with opportunities

Indeed APAC economist Callum Pickering says while job postings are down around 12 per cent compared with this time last year, there are still opportunities.

“While there's definitely new roles in the healthcare space, there are also jobs created through the indirect impact of COVID-19,” he said. 

“We're seeing strong demand for drivers including delivery and truck drivers, as well as rising demand for warehouse workers and packers, and a lot of that relates to some of the frenzied retail activity we've seen in recent weeks.

“Cleaning is another job that is in hot demand right now, which makes sense given that all of us are paying a little bit more attention to our personal hygiene, both in our homes and in our offices.”

Some delivery drivers are also seeing a spike in demand as Australians are no longer permitted to dine-in at restaurants and cafes.


"Usually for me, the busiest time is from five to eight in the evening but now it is busy all day long," he said. 

In difficult times, couriers and delivery drivers have become part of the country’s lifeline.

The 27-year-old, who is originally from Chile and in Australia on a student visa, said although he worries about the risk of contracting COVID-19, his job is the only way for him to make ends meet.

“I am scared for our health, but Sydney is an expensive city and we have to afford housing and food, we have to do the best we can," he said. 

“We keep people in their houses, right? We help them to stay there and this way the spread of the virus will stop.”

Who is deemed an 'essential' worker under Australia's COVID-19 rules?

Stephen Tuffley, the director of sales and service at Seek in Australia, said its jobs marketplace is also seeing more opportunities for tutoring and nannying jobs becoming available in the resources sector.  

“You've got parents who have got their children home from school and they're looking to either have someone help them with school, or for someone to look after them while they are not at school.

“Because of the virus, grandparents are less of an option than they were in the past.

“The resource and mining sector is probably taking the most advantage of the low Australian dollar at the moment," he added.

"There are jobs out there for mine supervisors, diggers and so on, so skilled and unskilled jobs."

SOURCE: SBS NEWS
LINK: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/these-are-the-australian-job-sectors-still-hiring-during-the-coronavirus-crisis

COVID-19: 2,000 Kes Kematian di AS, Kes Positif Lebih 115,000

Pandemik Covid-19 di Amerika Syarikat: CNN

WASHINGTON: Kes kematian akibat akibat coronavirus (COVID-19) di Amerika Syarikat melonjak melepasi 2,000 kes pada Sabtu, dua kali ganda dalam masa tiga hari, menurut satu kajian oleh Johns Hopkins University.

Jumlah kematian pada Sabtu lalu ialah 2,010 kes, kira-kira satu perempat daripada mereka di New York City, wilayah paling teruk di negara ini, lapor Johns Hopkins.

Sepanjang 24 jam lalu, angka kematian di AS ialah 453 kes yang dikaitkan dengan penyakit COVID-19, menyebabkan jumlah keseluruhan kematian negara itu kepada 1,891 kematian sejak pandemik bermula.

AS sejak Khamis lalu telah mencatatkan bilangan kes tertinggi di dunia.

Ia bagaimanapun kurang daripada 10,023 kematian di Itali, 5,812 di Sepanyol, 3,299 di China atau 2,317 di Perancis.

Sehingga petang Sabtu, Universiti Johns Hopkins mencatatkan 115,547 kes di AS. Ini termasuk kenaikan 23 peratus daripada 21,309 kes dicatatkan sehari.

New York adalah pusat wabak COVID-19 di negara itu, dengan lebih daripada 50,000 kes atau kira-kira separuh daripada jumlah kes di seluruh republik itu.

Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Donald Trump pada Sabtu berkata, beliau sedang mempertimbangkan meletakkan seluruh negeri di bawah kuarantin.

Gabenor New York, Andrew Cuomo pula memberitahu pemberita bahawa dia tidak berfikir langkah sedemikian boleh dilaksanakan mengikut undang-undang dan tidak tahu apa yang akan dicapai daripada perspektif kesihatan awam. 

COVID-19: Kes meningkat di Eropah, Trump cadang kuarantin New York

ROME: Pandemik coronavirus (COVID-19) menyebabkan kematian 20,000 orang di Eropah setakat semalam, dengan Itali dan Sepanyol masing-masing dilaporkan lebih daripada 800 orang meninggal dunia sehari.

Pada masa sama, Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Donald Trump berkata, beliau menimbangkan untuk meletakkan New York dan beberapa negeri lain di negara itu di bawah perintah kuarantin.

Satu pertiga penduduk dunia kini berada dalam perintah berkurung selepas wabak COVID-19 memberikan kesan yang amat dahsyat kepada masyarakat seperti menghapuskan berjuta-juta pekerjaan, memberikan tekanan kepada perkhidmatan penjagaan kesihatan dan menyebabkan penggantungan sepenuhnya kepada perbendaharaan untuk tahun mendatang.

Secara global, angka kematian melonjak melebihi 30,000 - dua pertiga daripadanya di Eropah dan pegawai di beberapa negara mengatakan perkara terburuk masih belum berlaku.

Bagaimanapun, di Wuhan di China, di mana wabak itu bermula, mula kembali kepada normal, dengan perkhidmatan kereta api sudah separa dipulihkan.

Pengumuman Trump bahawa dia sedang menimbangkan perintah ‘kuarantin’ untuk New York, jirannya New Jersey dan sebahagian dari Connecticut, amat mengejutkan.

Malah Gabenor New York, Andrew Cuomo berkata, beliau tidak tahu apa-apa mengenainya.

Pegawai kesihatan menyatakan mereka takut New York boleh mengikuti jalan maut yang dicatatkan oleh Itali, dengan golongan profesional kesihatan yang keletihan dan hospital mengalami kekurangan peralatan pelindung dan ventilator.

New York sahaja mempunyai lebih daripada 50,000 kes yang disahkan.

Jururawat di sebuah hospital di New York mengadakan bantahan kerana mendakwa mereka terpaksa memakai hanya satu topeng pelindung selama seminggu.

CNN pula melaporkan bahawa seorang mangsa termuda di AS iaitu seorang bayi di Chicago meninggal dunia akibat COVID-19.

Malah, menurut laporan Universiti Johns Hopkins, negara Uncle Sam itu kini mempunyai bilangan tertinggi kes COVID-19 yang disahkan di dunia, dengan 115,547 kes, 1,891 kematian, termasuk rekod 453 dalam 24 jam terakhir ini.

Bagaimanapun, negara di benua Eropah paling teruk terjejas dengan 20,059 kematian.

Itali mengeluarkan data baharu semalam, dengan mengumumkan 889 kematian baharu, dengan angka kematian di negara itu kini mencecah 10,023 mangsa dan menjadi satu-satunya negara yang mempunyai kes kematian melebihi 10,000.

Itali kini mempunyai 92,472 kes positif COVID-19.

Sepanyol, yang mempunyai angka kematian tertinggi kedua di dunia, menambah 832 kematian menjadikan jumlah 5,812.

Madrid mengetatkan kawalan di seluruh negara, menghentikan segala aktiviti tidak penting, walaupun pegawai mengatakan wabak di negara ini hampir mendekati puncaknya.

Rusia, yang melaporkan kadar virus yang agak rendah, berkata ia akan menutup sempadannya dalam usaha untuk memperlahankan penyebaran pandemik.

Menurut laporan AFP, 640,770 kes direkod secara rasmi di seluruh dunia sejak wabak itu bermula lewat tahun lalu.

Variasi dalam ujian dan kelewatan dalam menyediakan ujian yang mencukupi di sesetengah negara bermakna bilangan sebenar kes mungkin jauh lebih tinggi.

Di Perancis, yang merekodkan hampir 2,000 kematian, Perdana Menteri, Edouard Philippe memberi amaran bahawa "pertempuran" baharu sahaja bermula.

"Dua minggu pertama pada bukan April akan menjadi lebih sukar daripada dua minggu lalu, katanya.

Di tempat lain, Iran mengumumkan 139 kematian dan India menutup beberapa kampung di Punjab yang dikunjungi oleh seorang guru yang kini dijangkiti dan kemungkinan "penyebar tegar".

Sri Lanka dan Qatar mencatatkan kematian pertama mereka dan Turki mencecah 100 kematian.

Polis Afrika Selatan menggunakan peluru getah di Johannesburg untuk menguatkuasakan penjarakan sosial kepada orang ramai yang beratur untuk bekalan di luar sebuah pasar raya.

SUMBER: AFP