National Job Numbers on the Rise

MEDIA RELEASE
11th June 2012

National Job Numbers on the Rise

New jobs are on the rise, with the SEEK New Job Ad Index today revealing a 6.4% year-on-year increase in the number of new jobs.

The data from New Zealand’s largest job source, seek.co.nz, also shows that the rise in job ads in May was seen across the breadth of the country. Janet Faulding, General Manager SEEK New Zealand says;

“This is an encouraging sign for the New Zealand labour market. SEEK saw strong job ad numbers in May and now, for the first time since December 2011, month-on-month growth has been seen nationwide, with jobs up 3.8% from April.”

While solid growth continues to be seen in the Canterbury region, rising 4.6% in May and now 33% higher than a year earlier, today’s data has also shown a strengthening in the two largest markets, Auckland and Wellington. New job ads in Auckland were close behind the Garden City, with a 3.9% improvement on last month’s results. Advertised roles in Wellington grew by 2% in May to now be 7.9% higher than May 2011.

“Growth pervaded all regions monitored by the SEEK New Job Ad Index this month and this is a positive indicator of emerging strength in the labour market. May’s rise in job numbers can in part be attributed to the strengthening housing market and building activity picking up, which are beneficial for the economy as a whole. This will likely be reinforced as reconstruction activity in Canterbury increases throughout the year,” says Ms Faulding.

Data from the SEEK Employment Index (SEI) was also released today, measuring the ratio of new job ads listed on SEEK to applications received for those jobs. The SEI dipped 1.3% in May, driven by simultaneously increasing job applications and solid growth in job ads.

“We’ve seen really robust job numbers across the last month and applications are growing in line with these. This combined with almost 2.8 million visits to seek.co.nz from jobseekers in May shows the market is stimulated in both directions – supply and demand,” says Ms Faulding.

“The New Zealand economy is slowly and steadily improving, but there is still an underlying air of financial uncertainty both locally and globally. Increases in both supply and demand are a positive signal of mounting strength in the New Zealand labour market,” she concludes.

-ENDS-

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