Online vacancies return to pre-recession levels

19 February 2014

Online vacancies return to pre-recession levels

January 2014 featured the strongest growth in online job vacancies in four and a half years and has now reached pre-recession levels, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Jobs Online report reveals.

Ministry Labour Market and Business Performance Manager David Paterson says this strong growth reinforces the overall expansion in the labour market and improved employment and participation shown in the December 2013 quarter of the Household Labour Force Survey. “The Ministry expects the labour market to continue to strengthen, leading to an increase in vacancies,” he says.

The seasonally adjusted results show that online advertisements for skilled workers grew by 7.4 per cent in January following a 0.1 per cent increase in December 2013. The major contributors were the accounting, HR, legal and administration industries (up 16.1 per cent), along with the construction and engineering (up 6.5 per cent) industry.

Skilled vacancies increased in all occupation groups in January, with the biggest increase for technicians and trade workers (up 10.1 per cent). Skilled vacancies increased in all regions, with the South Island region (excluding Canterbury) showing the largest increase in January at 11.8 per cent, followed by the Auckland region (up 9.9 per cent).

Over the year to January, skilled vacancies increased by 21.0 per cent, while all vacancies increased by 21.8 per cent. South Island (excluding Canterbury) had the biggest increase in skilled vacancies (up 32.8 per cent) over the year, followed by Auckland (up 24.5 per cent). Skilled vacancies in the Canterbury region grew by 19.4 per cent over this period.

More information on Jobs Online is available.

Note: Jobs Online provides information on the demand for labour by monitoring the number of jobs advertised on the main internet job boards. Jobs Online is adjusted for seasonal variations.

ENDS

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