David Owens, the Sydney based managing director of Digby Morgan’s Australian subsidiary, HR Partners, reports on a wet, yet highly positive start to 2008.

Readers may be interested to hear that Australia has had the wettest summer for a decade and much needed rain filled dams and lambs all over the east coast. But, whilst weather patterns have been disturbed this year, economic ones have not.

Historically Australian’s enjoy a long summer holiday in January and then throw themselves back into hard work from the beginning of February. In HR recruitment terms, this period is peak recruitment season and so it has been this year. Digby Morgan’s Australian business – that trades as HR Partners - has had its best ever quarter and has successfully recruited HR talent in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Hong Kong and Dubai. Our business here in Australia enjoyed significant growth last year reaching 25 staff and this is set to grow still further as we drive towards our optimum headcount and further establish ourselves as the number one HR recruiter in Australia.

Based firmly on a booming raw materials export market, Australia’s economy is strong, domestic demand for services is high and the fear of a recessional market at this stage is pretty well only a peripheral concept. Our recruitment activities in Professional Services and Investment Banking remain high and our work in other sectors at this stage unimpaired. It is a positive time under a new labour government and Australia is very much open for business as usual. If you are planning a reconnaissance trip or, as an Australian, you are thinking of returning down under do not hesitate to make contact with me, David Owens, at HR Partners on dowens@hrpartners.com.au

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