Australia to lose 75,000 mining jobs

Up to 75,000 Australian mining jobs will be lost in the next couple of years as the industry's 450 billion Australian dollar (427 billion U.S. dollar) investment on new capacity slows, according to research by the ANZ bank released on Wednesday.

The cuts will occur because the mining industry is switching from the job-heavy construction phase to the operational phase, which requires less workers, The Australian reported.

As a result, the bank's economists say there will be little improvement in the nation's 5.8 percent jobless rate.

ANZ senior economist corporate and commercial Justin Fabo said weaker than expected commodity prices would tilt the risks to more job losses as mining firms seek to cut costs.

"So we think the unemployment rate will be in spitting distance of six percent over the next 12 months, and for improvement after that to be gradual," he said.

The Australian Workforce and Productivity Agency estimates there are 263,000 jobs in the resources industry, which represented an 80 percent increase across five years.