January Shows Positive Growth in Online Job Vacancies

15 February 2012

January Shows Positive Growth in Online Job Vacancies

Online job vacancies increased slightly in January after a small fall in December, according to the latest Jobs Online.

The Department of Labour’s Jobs Online report shows skilled job vacancies increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in January, and job vacancies overall grew by 0.8%.

“Compared to a year ago, the labour market has been gradually improving, reflecting the on-going economic recovery. This is echoed in the latest Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) results showing the number of people in employment rose by 3,000 in the December quarter. Skilled job vacancies rose by 8.4% compared to January 2011 while job vacancies overall rose by 9.7%” says the Department’s head of Labour and Immigration Research, Vasantha Krishnan.

“After a slowdown in hiring at the end of last year, the latest results may indicate that employers have started to increase hiring.”

Growth in skilled job vacancies was strongest outside the main centres. The South Island (excluding Canterbury) had the strongest growth of 2.3% in January; followed by the North Island (excluding Auckland and Wellington) with vacancies up by 2.0%. Industries with the biggest growth were healthcare and medical (up 7.8%) and construction and engineering (up 4.5%).

Canterbury has continued to show the strongest growth in skilled vacancies of any region (up by 44%) over the last 12 months, due to increased turnover in the region. The strong growth in the region was driven by the healthcare and medical and construction and engineering sectors, up 141% and 70% respectively.

ENDS

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