Kiwi’s Have Healthy Appetite for Jobs

Kiwi’s Have Healthy Appetite for Jobs

Kiwis are hungry for work, now, according to the latest data from SEEK. The monthly Employment Report out today shows that there has been a surge in candidate applications for the new job ads. Job applications are 18.9 per cent higher than this time last year.

“The application data shows that we have an active job seeking market in New Zealand at the moment, which means more choice for hirers when it comes to selecting talent for their roles. This could be due to several reasons including more people who are not currently working deciding to look for a job and currently employed people who are looking to changes jobs,” says Janet Faulding, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand.

While new job ads as a whole have remained stable over the last month, dipping by a modest 0.3% in seasonally adjusted terms, there are some industries that are experiencing growth and should be garnering attention from those job seekers.

Figure 1: SEEK New Job Ad growth across New Zealand classifications, year-on-year to May 2015

At an industry level the SEEK job data continues to show that industries associated to the housing boom, particularly in Auckland are supporting job creation. Real Estate and Property, Design and Architecture are all reporting double digit growth year on year to May 2015.

“QV announced earlier this week that property prices continue to climb, with Auckland’s average property price notching up the biggest gain in over a decade. Property continues to be a hot topic and a hot employment prospect,” states Ms Faulding.

“But while Sport and Recreation, Legal and Real Estate and Property maybe the classifications that are experiencing the biggest growth in job ads, the most opportunity still lies in Information and Communication Technology, Administration and Office Support and Trades and Services. These three classifications had the most jobs advertised during May; an interesting mix and great to see opportunity is not restricted to one skill set or industry”.

While application rates vary by industry Ms Faulding encouraged those who are currently hiring for positions to utilise the screening tools available.

“We know that hiring for staff can be a resource intensive process which is why we have screening tools available in the SEEK Advertiser Centre. Hirers can set up screening questions alongside their job ads so that only those with relevant skills or experience are able to apply for the jobs. We know when hirers use these tools they get more relevant applications and save time,” said Ms Faulding.

Interestingly, regional disparities within New Zealand are becoming evident in the SEEK New Job Ad data and this observation is being reinforced by other industry experts.

In the first five months of 2015 new job ads rose by 5% in Auckland but fell in both Wellington and Canterbury. New job ads fell over 5% in Canterbury in the last month, the fourth fall in the last five months.

“We are watching the developments in Canterbury with great interest. There is increasing anecdotal evidence that the pace of expansion in the region associated with the post-earthquake rebuild may be moderating. The job ads data would certainly be consistent with this hypothesis,” notes Stephen Toplis, Head of Research, Markets at the Bank of New Zealand.

ENDS

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