3 Nov 2014

Low jobless rate hitting AWF

6:59 am on 3 November 2014

AWF Group says the next year or two is going to be challenging as the company struggles to maintain an inventory of tradespeople to fill vacant positions amid low unemployment.

Still, the temporary placement company's business is on track to meet its revenue forecast of about $200 million for the year ending March 2015, about $50 million more than the previous year.

The result will include a full-year contribution of Madison, the white-collar employment placement service it bought last year.

Chief executive Mike Huddleston said Madison had already made a significant contribution to the company's first-half profit and revenue, and he expected the service would continue to outperform the rest of its business.

Mr Huddleston said the group was losing significant ground on a daily basis by not having an available workforce.

"I don't think it will change for the next 18 months, I suspect it will get worse, not better," he said.

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