Data from the most recent AIG employment survey showed unemployment among geoscientists was 12.1% during the March quarter, down from 14.4% in the December quarter of 2016, while under-employment was also lower, to 18.3% from 19.5%.

The rate of unemployed and underemployed geoscientists unable to secure more than one quarter of their desired workload during the March quarter was down almost 3%, to 21.7% from 24.5% in the December quarter.

The AIG said the study had found improvements in three of the past four surveys, which it said supported anecdotal evidence of a modest upturn in industry activity.

AIG Council member Andrew Waltho said survey results were “clearly positive”, however, added that this was no cause for complacency.

“Current levels of geoscientist employment are better than they were 12 months ago but are only back to mid-2013 levels,” he said.

“Geoscientist unemployment in Australia is still roughly three-times that of the Australian workforce in general, which is not good news for both the profession and the exploration and mining industry which accounts for the bulk of geoscientist jobs in Australia”.

Waltho called on the government to do more to attract exploration investment, in particular by ensuring equitable access to land for exploration, which he said geoscientists had identified as their biggest barrier to further employment.

“We need to ensure that Australia is seen to be an attractive place to invest, in which equitable access to land for responsibly conducted fieldwork is key.”

Waltho added that long-term unemployment among geoscientists remained a key concern, with more than 62% of the unemployed and underemployed geoscientists surveyed out of work for 12 months or more, and 53% of these not confident of regaining employment within 12 months.

“A majority of unemployed and underemployed geoscientists are striving to secure new employment that still isn’t there, resulting in significant numbers of highly skilled and experienced professionals seeking work outside their chosen field,” he said.

“The improvement in this survey hopefully provides some encouragement for students who will be entering the geoscience profession over the next few years.”