18 april 2012
Steady Growth in Online Skilled Vacancies in March
Skilled job vacancies advertised online had a steady growth in March after a strong increase in February, according to
the latest Jobs Online.
The Department of Labour’s Jobs Online report shows skilled job vacancies increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in March compared to February, while
job vacancies overall fell slightly by 0.8 percent.
“Although growth in job vacancies appears to have eased during March, the results still indicate that the demand for
skilled labour continues to improve,” says the Department of Labour Head of Research, Vasantha Krishnan.
Industries with the biggest growth nationally were accounting, HR, legal and administration (up by 3.5 percent),
followed by construction and engineering (up by 3.4 percent) and healthcare and medical (up by 3 percent).
The South Island (excluding Canterbury) recorded the strongest growth in skilled job vacancies with 8.3 percent in
March, followed by Canterbury, with vacancies up by 6.2 percent.
Over the last 12 months Canterbury has continued to show the strongest growth in skilled vacancies of any region (up by
59 percent). The strong growth in the region has been driven by the demand for skilled workers in healthcare and medical
(up by 123 percent), and construction and engineering (up by 90 percent).
Growth in online job vacancies has been generally positive over the past year, with skilled job vacancies 4 percent
higher than a year ago, along with a 6.3 percent increase in job vacancies overall.
ends