In delivering its latest quarterly update, HR&M said unemployment was tracking at 35-year lows and, while there had been some talk of softer jobs growth as a result of rising interest rates and slowing economic growth, it was yet to see any evidence in support of this.

“In fact, our latest forecast shows that employers' hiring intentions remain very positive," HR&M regional director Ben Hiles said.

“Businesses are expanding, the resources and construction boom continues, skills are in demand and candidate attraction and retention remain a focal point."

Hiles said the coal industry in New South Wales, like other major contributors to Australia's resources and mining boom, continues to face problems in ensuring skilled personnel are on board to ensure production levels are met.

Statutory requirement positions such as mine deputies and undermanagers are particularly in short supply, Hiles said, and recruitment campaigns in North America and Canada via the Hays Globalink facility are actively helping to identify and encourage suitably qualified and experienced coal professionals to work in the Australian coal fields.

The situation, as HR&M observed in its quarterly update, has wrested much of the bargaining power from employers and handed it to the candidates.

“In a candidate-rich market, potential employers can be very particular about their requirements," Hiles said.

“But in the current market, it is the candidates who are being particular, seeking work/life balance and asking employers what their company can offer them over others."

He added that employers were starting to get the message and changing their approach to suit. For example, while companies would much prefer to secure a candidate through permanent employment, they are prepared to recruit on a contract basis if that is the desired candidate's preference.

Geographically, Hiles said Queensland and to a lesser extent South Australia, along with New South Wales and Victoria, are slowly catching up to Western Australian mining salaries.

Hays’ Salary Survey reports that a mining engineer typically earns between $85,000 and $120,000 in Queensland and up to $110,000 in New South Wales and South Australia, while in Western Australia the salary is $75,000 to 105,000.

The Salary Survey also reveals that one in two employers across the board reported a rise in permanent staff levels.

Engineering saw the highest increase, with 64% of employers increasing their staff levels in this technical area.

“Given the ongoing boom for engineers, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the employment of engineering skills has risen so significantly,” Hiles said.

The company's research showed there was still a major shortage of process engineers, with an increase in the number of new mineral processing projects, especially in South-East Asia, driving demand.

Civil/structural and mechanical engineers as well as project control staff such as senior planners, estimators and contracts administrators were all also in short supply.

Looking forward, employment expectations are very positive, according to Hays, with 46% of employers expected to increase their permanent staff levels over the next 12 months.

Again, the most confidence is coming from the engineering industry, where 71% of employers expect to increase their staff levels in this discipline.