91,000 Jobs Boost Local Labour Market

MEDIA RELEASE

9 September, 2013

91,000 Jobs Boost Local Labour Market

New Zealand’s labour market continues to gain momentum with a boost of 91,000 jobs advertised in the last four months. Data released by SEEK today shows confidence is growing with an increase of almost 8,000 roles advertised on seek.co.nz in the four months to August compared to the first four months of 2013.

These increases are echoed in findings from the recent BNZ Business Confidence Survey, as Janet Faulding, General Manager SEEK New Zealand, explains;

“The effects of rising business and consumer confidence are now becoming apparent both in the number of jobs listed on SEEK and as reflected in BNZ’s September Business Confidence Survey which shows there is currently strong demand for candidates,” says Ms Faulding.

“We have been keeping a close eye as various sectors have shown signs of being positively influenced by rising confidence. This impact has been a little slower to show in terms of job creation so it’s encouraging to now see job numbers on the rise,” she says.

The strong growth seen across the country has been driven by increases in our two largest labour markets, Auckland and Wellington, with the number of jobs on New Zealand’s largest job site in each region increasing by 12% and 10% respectively from May to August compared to the start of 2013.

At an industry level, the sectors driving growth in the four months to August 2013 were largely white collar roles, with the exception of Trades and Services, one of the largest industry classifications on SEEK with more than 7,000 roles listed during this time.

The top five growth industries from May to August 2013 are:

1.    Design and Architecture, up 35%

2.    Banking and Financial Services, up 26%

3.    Trades and Services, up 23%

4.    Admin and Office Support, up 16%

5. Marketing and Communications, up 15%

“Commentary over recent years placed Canterbury’s rebuild firmly in a position of keeping the country’s job market afloat, however the strong growth exhibited now in a number of white collar industries on seek.co.nz paints a different picture,” says Ms Faulding.

“While the trades and services, construction and hospitality industries have certainly been leading the way for a while there, it’s encouraging to now see the number of job ads across a variety of sectors on the rise as business confidence continues to grow outside of the Canterbury rebuild,” she concludes.

ENDS

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