According to figures released by Sportspeople, the sport sector has experienced its third consecutive year of growth in employment opportunities, with a 30% improvement in the number of full time positions advertised over 1998/99 financial year.

The 1999 Sportspeople Report, which is based on job advertisements placed in the Weekend Australian and Saturday editions of the Sydney Morning Herald, logged 647 full time positions, advertised over the period 1 July, 1998 to 30 June, 1999.  This figure compares with 497 advertised over the corresponding period in 1997/98 and signals good news for the sport industry.

Some of the highlights of the 1999 Sportspeople Report include (1997/98 comparative figures are shown in brackets):

• Despite an increased in the total number of positions advertised, up 41 advertisement to 147 (106), the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games accounted for 22.7% of the total number of sport sector jobs advertised compared to 21.3% in 1998.  As a  number of the advertisements included multiple positions (e.g. Secretaries/Sports Administrators) the full impact of the Sydney 2000 Olympic & Paralympic Games is estimated at 25% of the total positions advertised in the sport sector.

• Opportunities in Venue Management surged, with 47 (13) positions advertised at specific sport & recreation venues, in addition to the significant increase across university, local, state & federal government facilities.  Venue Managers accounted for nearly 10% of the total number of positions advertised in 1998/99.
• The number of Media & Public Relations positions doubled in 1998/99, up to 21 (12). Media & PR specialists accounted for 5.5% of the total number of positions advertised.
• While representing only 2.3% of the total pool, information technology specialists (particularly website developers) emerged as a new area of employment for the sport sector.  With 15 (7) jobs in 1998/99 this area of specialty is predicted to grow steadily in the next decade.
• Financial management, with 49 positions, has been segmented for the first time in the 1999 Sportspeople Report
• While the Sydney 2000 Olympic & Paralympic Games continue to have a positive impact on the sport sector, the emergence of other major events provides an employment focus beyond 2000.  The Goodwill Games (2002), Gay Games (2002), World Masters Games (2002) and the 2006 Commonwealth Games offered 18 positions during the survey period
• State Government positions increased to 53 (32) along with Federal Government 28 (13), while local government declined to 50 (53).
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