Labour market measure reveals signs of recovery

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                             

17th November 2009

New labour market measure reveals signs of recovery; Jobs up over 12%

New job advertisements placed on seek.co.nz, New Zealand’s largest job source, are up an encouraging 12.2% in the four months from July to October 2009.

As New Zealand continues to grapple with the effects of the global financial crisis, the first independent New Zealand report to measure labour market supply against demand has been released by SEEK. 

And the new monthly data released today for October 2009 suggests the recovery is beginning.

Annemarie Duff, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand, said the growth in jobs advertised is encouraging since it is now evidenced across a number of months.

“We all want signs of stability and growth and we all want good news. The fact that new job ads have risen by 12.2% in the last fourfince June. y ment Indicators ws taht t VIctori dicates that a recovery is beginning.  months, and nearly half of that rise, 5.8%, has occurred in October, suggests that employers are again beginning to look for staff”.

“It is encouraging to see that after a ski-slope drop in job availability, we have not only seen a stable period, but we have started to see a slight trend upwards.”

The recent rise in job ads was particularly focused on Auckland experiencing 14.6% growth in the same four month period. Christchurch followed closely with 9.7% growth but Wellington had a much lower increase of 3.0%.

However, Ms Duff explains that while there is an increase in positions advertised, competition among job seekers remains competitive.

“SEEK Employment Index data shows we are still in a soft job market – meaning there are many more applications received than there are roles advertised. Our monthly report reveals that while this has improved since June by 6.3%, it has a long way to go before it swings back to a jobseekers market.”

The SEEK Employment Index

The SEEK Employment Index (SEI) is a dynamic snapshot of the match between the supply of job seekers and the demand for workers on seek.co.nz. It is unique to other indicators as it measures job supply and demand.

The SEI slightly declined by a seasonally adjusted 1.2 per cent in October, although there has been a 6.3% improvement since June. 

At a regional level, Auckland and Wellington made a significant contribution to the national trend with each experiencing over a 3 per cent trend upwards. Christchurch, however, experienced a significant fall of 4.2 per cent due to a surge in labour supply in the area. 

Job Advertisements

Job ads increased 5.8 per cent in October across New Zealand. At a regional level there was a significant increase in Christchurch (6.1%), Auckland (4.6%) and Wellington (4.2%) suggesting a stronger demand for labour in all major cities.

In all, there remains more than 10,000 jobs on SEEK across all regions and all industries – particularly in areas like IT and Technology, Healthcare and Medical, and Sales and Marketing.

Job Applications

October’s top five most competitive occupations:

Banking and Financial Services – Banking/Branch Staff
I.T & Technology – Help Desk/Support
Call Centre/Customer Service – Call Centre Operator
Administration – Reception
Retail and Consumer Products – Retail Sales Assistant
 
In contrast, the top five most sought after professions for October demonstrate the value of having a qualification.

October’s top five most sought after employees:

 Legal – Solicitor: Private Practice
Construction -             Architecture
Government/Defence – Policy Analyst/Advisor
Consulting & Corporate Strategy – Analyst
Healthcare & Medical – Nursing/Midwives

ends

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