With new developments in the impact of COVID-19 every hour, real-time data is vital in helping governments and other organisations make important decisions as we recover from the coronavirus. 

To support this decision-making, Nous Group has developed the Recovery Monitor, a dashboard of real-time data that charts Australia’s progress through COVID-19. (The Recovery Monitor was decommissioned in 2023.) 

The Recovery Monitor features data on industry impacts, employer demands, government procurement, business sentiment, online search patterns, and COVID-19 illness and fatalities. It is the only Australian monitor to draw on real-time job ads from Burning Glass, which analyses job listings to understand emerging trends in the skills and jobs sought by employers. 

Tim Orton, Managing Director of Nous Group, said the Recovery Monitor was a vital tool for any organisation making decisions in the context of COVID-19. 

“Right now our world is in a state of flux, and it is impossible for anyone to know with confidence what the future holds. Gaining clarity requires access to accurate and timely data so decision-makers are as informed as possible. Without it, they are flying blind. 

“In times like this, many conventional forms of data are inadequate because they have a significant lag. By looking at data that can be accessed rapidly – such as demand for job skills or sentiment analysis from social media posts – we can get a vital snapshot of the state of the nation. 

“This data is vital as we move into the recovery phase.” 

The latest data offers several key insights: 

• Occupations providing health, hygiene and IT services have experienced the largest increases in demand, while travel consultants have experienced the largest declines.  
• Skills in sales are experiencing a decline in demand, while employers in the retail industry are seeking skills to enable their shift to online trade. 
• Businesses’ Twitter sentiment and the ASX200 both reached their low point 12 days after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic and have since risen.  

David Diviny, a Nous Group Principal and lead of Nous’ Data Analytics practice, said there were many practical uses for the Recovery Monitor. 

“As governments deliver stimulus and support measures, they can use granular and timely data to inform precise targeting. As the job market undergoes rapid shifts, governments will need data to quickly identify opportunities for reskilling and relocation of the workforce. And as communities bounce back from social dislocation, governments can use data to target interventions to minimise the long-term impact,” David said. 

”No organisation making big decisions about their future can afford to be without the latest data. The Recovery Monitor puts much of the key data at people’s fingertips. We look forward to working with them to analyse the data to gather key insights that can drive action.” 

The Recovery Monitor draws on data from sources including Burning Glass, the Australian Securities Exchange, Google and Twitter. 

Published on 14 May 2020.