The survey found the unemployment rate among Australia’s geoscientists fell to 15.5%, down from the record 18.7% reported in January.

The underemployment rate, however, remained relatively unchanged at 14.9%, compared to 14.8% in January.

While job prospects have improved slightly, the AIG said rates were still well above the levels seen in September 2009 at the height of the global financial crisis.

“We hope that the improvement in unemployment evident between January and June this year is the beginning of a trend but the small size of the improvement recorded and the increase in underemployment amongst self-employed geoscientists is not welcome news,” AIG past-president Andrew Waltho said.

“AIG hopes that members will see the effects of federal government initiatives, especially the exploration development incentive, to promote investment in Australia’s exploration sector in the form of improved employment opportunities for geoscientists.

“State governments also need to promote exploration by eliminating red tape that contributes to investment in exploration being diverted from activities that could contribute to the discovery of new mineral resources.”

Breaking down the numbers, New South Wales saw unemployment rise sharply from 13.3% to 20.1%.

Smaller increases were found in Victoria, where it levelled at 22.2%, while South Australia came in at 13.8%.

The two big mining states saw what could be the start of a recovery, with geoscientist unemployment in Western Australia dropping from 19.6% to 14.3%, while Queensland fell from 16.4% to 10.8%.

Too few responses were received from the Northern Territory and Tasmania to provide meaningful figures.

Taking stock of other trends, AIG said 88% of underemployed geoscientists reported they were securing less than half their desired level of self-employment.

More than 41% of this group said they were securing less than 10% of their desired level.

Of unemployed and underemployed geoscientists, more than 60% said they had been so for six months or more.

Almost 20% lost their employment in the past three months and 60% were not confident of returning to full-time work in the next 12 months.

A total 1069 respondents completed the survey, a figure that accounts for more than one in eight Australian geoscientists.