MEDIA RELEASE
8th February 2011

January Job Figures Best Since 2009

The New Zealand job market has rung in the New Year with a strong start as the latest data from SEEK reports the highest level of new job ads since December 2008.

While the unemployment figures released late last week showed a disappointing finish to 2010 this signals a promising start for the year ahead. Seasonally adjusted, the SEEK New Job Ads series increased 0.4% in January 2011, following a 5% increase in December 2010. As a result, new job ads are 20.3% higher than in January 2010.

By region, new job ads were lower in the South Island; job ads in Canterbury fell -2.3% after a surge in ads in the previous month. Growth was primarily driven through increases across the North Island: Wellington at 3.1%, Auckland at 0.9%, and the rest of North Island at 0.9%.

“The SEEK Job Ad Index experienced continued growth over the month of January, and while it’s very early days, February is also shaping up well with the number of new jobs on seek.co.nz at over 15,000 last week,” says Helen Souness, Senior Executive of SEEK.

“Bearing in mind that the unemployment rate is a retrospective look at September through to December last year, we’ve taken a temperature gauge on the situation now. The growth in job ads coupled with the recently reported businesses intentions to hire in the future and increasing consumer confidence – these combine to all point to an improving economic environment.”

This positive outlook is echoed in the SEEK Employment Index (SEI) with results showing a rise of 6.2% January 2011. The SEI is the ratio of new job ads placed on seek.co.nz during the month to the number of applications for those jobs. This month’s positive growth is attributed to an increase in the number of jobs listed on seek.co.nz and a decrease in the numbers of applications for the roles.

“SEI growth of 6.2% in January is the highest increase we have seen in the last four months and a considerable 19% improvement on this time last year. This is another sign of the labour market strengthening and improving conditions for job seekers,” says Ms Souness.

Job Applications

January’s top five most competitive occupations:

1. Hospitality & Tourism – Waiting Staff
2. Call Centre/Customer Service – Call Centre Operator
3. Information & Communications Technology – Help Desk & IT Support
4. Retail & Consumer Products – Retail Sales Assistant
5. Administration – Receptionists

The number one most competitive occupation in January was Waiting Staff, pushing Call Centre staff off the number one spot for the first time in four months. The increased level of demand for these roles could be the result of the number of seasonal workers looking for work in the Hospitality Industry over the summer period.

January’s top five most sought after employees:

1. Government/Defense – Government
2. Engineering – Civil/Structural Engineering
3. Healthcare & Medical – Psychology, Counseling & Social Work
4. Information & Communications Technology – Consultants
5. Trades & Services – Automotive Trades

Those who work in the Government are the number one most sought after employees for the month of January, with these roles receiving the least applications per advertisement. A new entry to the most in demand employees list was Psychology, Counseling and Social Work positions which entered the list for the first time.

ENDS

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