Skilled job vacancies grew in December

Media release

21 January 2015

Skilled job vacancies grew in December

Skilled job vacancies advertised online increased by 1.1 per cent for the month of December, and were up 7.4 per cent in the past year to December, according to the latest Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Jobs Online report.

The number of vacancies for skilled jobs grew in eight out of ten regions across New Zealand during the year. The biggest annual increases were in the Bay of Plenty (up 20.6 per cent), Otago/Southland (up 11.2 per cent) and Auckland (up 10.3 per cent). In contrast, skilled vacancies fell in Wellington (down 4.3 per cent) and Northland (down 1.0 per cent).

Skilled vacancies in Canterbury increased over the year, with vacancies in the region growing by 8.3 per cent. Since the September 2010 earthquake, vacancies in construction and engineering in the Canterbury region have risen by 375 per cent.

The Ministry’s Labour Market and Business Performance Manager David Paterson says these results show continued strength in the labour market, particularly in Christchurch.

The monthly growth in online vacancies was shared across most industry groups, with the biggest increase in the healthcare and medical industry (up 1.1 per cent).

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NOTES: 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.

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