Job market tanks but outlook improves

16 August 2009

Job market tanks but outlook improves

The New Zealand employment market contracted significantly, according to a study of 48,000 jobs on Trade Me Jobs in the first half of 2009.

“With many businesses shedding staff and those in employment staying put, we’ve seen a huge increase in job seeker activity,” said Trade Me Jobs Head, Jimmy McGee.

“The net result was fewer advertised jobs, which received nearly double the applications per job compared to the second half of 2008.”

“Worst affected was the construction sector, while administration and support jobs have also suffered. From a geographic perspective, Auckland and Wellington have felt the brunt of the downturn, especially certain areas immediately outside the CBD.”

“In spite of this, we’ve seen some mild wage inflation, with the majority of occupations showing salary increases.”

Doctors take the mantle as the best paid, with an average pay packet of $132,401. IT jobs took out the next four positions.
Grey District on the West Coast had the largest average salaries on offer ($81,451), benefiting from the energy sector bias. Following close behind were Auckland ($73,334) and Wellington ($72,331).

Moving forward, there is reason for cautious optimism for the remainder of 2009.
“The rate of deterioration was greatest in February. Since then, the market has slowly stabilised.”

“We expect to see three trends emerge over the next year. Firstly, continued buoyancy in the healthcare and education sectors, with some mild recovery in banking and finance. Secondly, employers will look to fill vacancies with part-time and contract workers. Last, those in employment will look at other job options, as a hedge against continued uncertainty.”

The full set of results are listed on the following page.

About Trade Me Jobs.
Trade Me Jobs is Trade Me’s specialist job site. In July ’09, over 568,000 Kiwis visited Trade Me Jobs (domestic unique browsers, Nielsen Online).
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Employment survey results by region
(previous results from 2nd half 2008 in brackets)

Best paid locations

1. Grey (West Coast) $81,451 ($59,057)
2. Auckland City $73,344 ($67,804))
3. Wellington $72,331 ($70,585)
4. Regional Southland $70,705 ($55,849)
5. New Plymouth $64,934 ($58,858)
Largest increase in job vacancies

1. Grey (West Coast)
2. Wanganui
3. Gisborne
4. Dunedin
5. Whakatane Greatest easing
(easier to source)

1. Central Hawkes Bay
2. North Shore (Auckland)
3. Timaru
4. Ashburton
5. Tasman
Worst paid locations

1. Porirua $45,302 ($49,873)
2. Hurunui & Wakimakariri (Canterbury) $45,647 ($39,596)
3. Regional Manawatu $46,040 ($44,695)
4. Waipa (Waikato) $45,833 ($41,462)
5. Hastings $45,881 ($46,877) Largest decrease in job vacancies

1. North Shore (Auckland)
2. Central Hawkes Bay
3. Western Bay of Plenty
4. Manukau City
5. Waitakere City Greatest relative tightening

1. Rotorua
2. Regional Manawatu
3. Kapiti Coast
4. Thames-Coromandel
5. Palmerston North

Employment survey results by occupation
Best paid professions

1. Doctors $132,401 ($109,431)
2. IT architects $121,703 ($117,073)
3. IT sales & pre-sales $121,329 ($123,786)
4. IT functional consultants $118,045 ($107,109)
5. Financial Controllers $109,103 ($105,995)
Largest increase in job vacancies

1. Doctors & specialists
2. Tertiary education
3. Occupational therapists
4. Preschool education
5. Physiotherapists Greatest easing
(easier to source)

1. Architects
2. Construction project managers
3. Project managers (engineering)
4. Building services (engineering)
5. IT testers
Worst paid professions

1. Kitchen staff $30,637 ($29,354)
2. Waiting staff $30,817 ($33,069)
3. Caregivers $31,569 ($31,057)
4. Bar staff & baristas $32,527 ($31,857)
5. Labourers $33,920 ($34,094) Largest decrease in job vacancies

1. Construction site managers
2. Architects
3. Drafting (engineering)
4. Sales support
5. IT testers Greatest relative tightening

1. Occupational therapists
2. Private practice solicitors
3. Secondary education
4. Engineering managers
5. Tertiary education
ends

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