Data Flash (New Zealand) ANZ Job Ads Survey - April 2002
The number of newspaper job advertisements fell rose 6.3% mom in April following a 2.5% decline in March. The level of
advertising remains 1% lower than a year earlier and 6.1% below its July 2001 peak.
The timing of Easter has had a substantial impact on this data. The ANZ estimate that the underlying trend was for an
increase of 0.6% in March and 1.2% in April.
The number of internet job advertisements rose 0.4% mom but was 33% lower than a year earlier.
We find that the ANZ job ads series has a better relationship with measures of skill shortages than with measures of
employment. As the chart below shows, if April's job advertising levels are sustained in Q2, a modest increase in skill
shortages may be reported in the next QSBO survey.
Darren Gibbs, Senior Economist, New Zealand