The group said unemployment and underemployment in the sector rose 19.2% over the June quarter to 22% due to an ongoing jobs bite in exploration and mining.
The study was based on a survey of more than 1100 Australian geoscientists, or more than one in eight based on the most recent census data.
AIG president Kaylene Camuti said the results demonstrated a continuing trend that first became evident in September 2011 and began to accelerate in June 2012 as exploration and mining for both mineral and energy resources in Australia began to decline.
“This lack of exploration poses significant risks to the resource investment pipeline in Australia,” she said.
“Only a small proportion of all discoveries ultimately become viable, sustainable operations after a number of years of intense geological, engineering, environmental and social impact studies and the market decline in exploration creates a situation where the resources industry’s future viability is under growing threat.”
Some 54% of respondents work in the metalliferous mineral exploration sector, with a further 21% working in metalliferous mining.
Almost 40% of unemployed survey respondents said they lost employment during the second quarter of 2013 and 51% since the beginning of the year.
Almost 12% of unemployed or underemployed geoscientists had been unable to secure work for more than 12 months.
Of those in employment, a quarter feared they would lose their jobs within the next three months.
In terms of percentage, unemployment was the worst in Tasmania at 33.3% in the June quarter compared to 12.5% in the previous period.
Unemployment in Western Australia was up from 6.8% in the March quarter to 9.1% in the three months to June.
However, Queensland bucked the trend with a 3.8% decline in unemployment over the June quarter to 7.6%.
Underemployment increased 6.3% in WA to 10.1% and was up 8.8% in Queensland to 12.4%.
AIG said about 11% of unemployed and underemployed geoscientists were actively seeking jobs outside their profession, with some 57% saying they were not confident they would find work within 12 months.
