Growth in job vacancies steadies

MEDIA RELEASE 1 September 2005

Growth in job vacancies steadies

An analysis of job ads in July indicated that employers took advantage of the Lions tour to target recruitment drives at some of the 30,000 tourists from Britain and Ireland who visited New Zealand during that period.

Growth in the number of advertised vacancies in newspapers across New Zealand rose from 8% in June to 9% in July, according to the Department of Labour's Job Vacancy Monitor.

Department of Labour Deputy Secretary Work Opportunities Andrew Crisp said a feature of the July advertised vacancies was that some of it was tailored to the influx of tourists.

"The number of vacancies advertised in the Dominion Post on July 2, the day of the Wellington test match, was more than 50% higher than on the first Saturday of July in 2004," Mr Crisp said.

The result of the Department's July analysis of one day's job vacancies in 25 papers and on selected websites followed an 8% annual increase in June, and a 10% increase in May.

Mr Crisp said the data remained consistent with previous analysis, which pointed to a strong labour market, although there has been some easing in the growth in vacancies over the past year.

"The strength of the job market is reflected in the June quarter unemployment rate of 3.7%," Mr Crisp said.

The Department's Skills in the Labour Market quarterly report published last month said that skill shortages were expected to remain over 2005.

July's result was driven by:

* Growth in vacancies for managers (53%) and other highly skilled occupations; and

* High growth in vacancies for plant and machinery operators (28%), restaurant services workers (20%), as well as agriculture and fishery workers (17%).

Demand for skilled candidates continued to decline in other areas:

* Vacancies declined in the trades sector, particularly in the area of building trades (-17%). This area includes people such as builders, carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers; and

* There was a decline in vacancies for scientists, architects and engineers: the growth rate for these three occupations as a group was 30% lower.

Additionally, the number of vacancies in the IT sector reached a new high: there were 48% more vacancies in July compared with the same month in 2004.

ENDS

Regional information

Year-on-year regional increases in the index in July 2005 (compared with year-on-year increases in June 2005):

Change July 2004 to July 2005 / Change June 2004 to June 2005

Auckland 13% 14%

Bay of Plenty 30% 28%

Canterbury 3% 3%

Gisborne 0% 1%

Hawke's Bay 12% 10%

Manawatu-Wanganui 15% 16%

Marlborough 9% 5%

Nelson -6% -5%

Northland 38% 32%

Otago 7% 5%

Southland 11% 9%

Taranaki 22% 30%

Tasman/West Coast 35% 18%

Waikato 11% 10%

Wellington 20% 18%

Note:

The full July Job Vacancy Monitor is available on www.dol.govt.nz/jvm

The full June Skills in the Labour Market report is available on www.dol.govt.nz/lmr

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