MEDIA RELEASE
18 January 2013
Job market growth slowing, employers hold upper hand
Growth in the job market has slowed, with advertised vacancies up 11.4 per cent on a year ago, according to an analysis
of over 42,000 roles on Trade Me Jobs over the last quarter.
Head of Trade Me Jobs Pete Ashby said that while this was only a slight deceleration from the 12.3% growth recorded last
quarter, he had expected a stronger result. “The same quarter a year ago was disrupted by the tail end of the RWC and
the general election. So we’d hoped to show better growth, but double digit growth isn’t to be scoffed at.”
At the same time, there was a 9.7% increase in applications per job, creating an ‘employers market’ in many segments.
By the regions
“The Christchurch market continues to dominate the employment landscape, with 46% of the increase in listings across the
country coming from the Canterbury market.”
The building and construction sectors are booming, especially site management (up 119%), supervisors and forepersons (up
155%), building and carpentry (up 94%) and labourers (up 90%). Forecasts suggest 15,000 to 30,000 workers will be
required to meet this demand, so employers will likely look offshore to fill these roles.
“The increased demand appears to be driving up pay rates, especially in the commercial construction sector. Site
management and supervisory roles are up by over 5%; well above the national average.”
”It’s also encouraging to see job growth rippling through the broader Canterbury economy. Advertised vacancies for
office and administration, and hospitality and tourism roles have lifted by 58% and 48% respectively.
There was also resurgent growth in New Zealand’s largest labour market - Auckland. “Listings across the Auckland region
were up by 7.3% - a marked increase on last quarter. While the majority of jobs are still in the central city and
Manukau, it’s the secondary areas such as the North Shore and Waitakere which have grown fastest (up 22% and 33%
respectively).”
Cold ale and hot coffee driving growth
Construction and architecture vacancies grew faster than any other sector (up 109%). “The growth in the construction
sector was a national phenomenon, with listings more than doubling in Auckland, Wellington and BOP, as well as
Christchurch.
Other sectors demonstrating strong growth included healthcare (up 32%), transport and logistics (up 30%), and
hospitality and tourism (25%). Mr Ashby said that Kiwis’ thirst for coffees and cold ales had continued unabated and had
driven the demand for hospo workers in the main centres and holiday hot spots across the country.
And while demand for engineers appears flat, this masked a growing demand in some segments. “There’s an acute shortage
of experienced civil and structural engineers, and employers are increasingly looking overseas to fill the gaps.”
The outlook
While business confidence is improving, house prices are rising again and interest rates are still relatively flat.
“These are typically great catalysts for growth in the job market.”
ENDS
Trade Me Jobs employment survey results: October – December 2012
1. Listings growth by job: Q4/2012
JobChange vs. Q3/2012Change vs. Q4/2011Accounting - 21.3%- 26.3%Agriculture, fishing & forestry - 14.1%21.5 %Banking, finance & insurance - 13.3%11.5 %Construction & architecture 12.6 %109.3 %Customer Service - 21.0%- 2.3%Education - 12.1%- 6.9%Engineering - 18.7%- 8.5%Government & council 3.7 %4.1 %Healthcare - 18.2%32.0 %Hospitality & tourism 11.3 %25.3 %HR & recruitment - 2.6%- 3.8%IT - 17.7%- 19.7%Legal - 13.6%11.4 %Manufacturing & operations - 1.1%7.6 %Marketing, media & comms - 19.6%8.8 %Office & administration - 22.2%8.2 %Retail - 12.2%11.8 %Sales - 18.2%- 2.6%Science & technology - 14.9%4.2 %Trades & services 3.6 %37.4 %Transport & logistics 11.7 %30.3 %Overall- 8.3%11.4 %
2. Average rates of annual pay by job (full-time jobs only): Q4/2012
Highest paid Pay rate ($) 1IT Functional Consultants138,5002IT Architects133,9283IT Project Managers123,8964Doctors and specialists 121,4725Finance managers and Controllers121,442 Lowest paid Pay rate ($) 1Care Givers 32,8942Bar staff and Baristas32,2413Receptionist & front desk33,3964Kitchen Staff33,7485Retail Assistant33,961
3. Listings growth by region for Q4/2012
Region Change vs. Q3/2012Change vs. Q4/2011Auckland - 10.0%7.3 %Bay of Plenty - 10.1%10.3 %Canterbury - 8.1%31.5 %Gisborne - 13.5%1.7 %Hawke’s Bay 3.3 %16.2 %Manawatu / Wanganui 5.4 %41.9 %Marlborough - 8.0%17.9 %Nelson / Tasman - 7.5%10.0 %Northland- 7.9%5.8 %Otago 5.2 %27.4 %Southland - 20.0%- 3.3%Taranaki - 9.0%2.7 %Waikato - 12.6%5.3 %Wellington - 7.2%1.1 %West Coast - 17.2%- 13.1%National- 8.3%11.4 %
4. Average rates of annual pay by region (full-time jobs only)
Highest paid Pay rate ($) 1Wellington City 74,7592Auckland City 73,4103Timaru60,6264
5Whangarei
New Plymouth59,318
57,741 Lowest paid Pay rate ($) 1Mackenzie41,3432Hurunui44,0103Kapiti Coast46,4084South Waikato46,6475Thames/Coromandel46,772
NB: Segments with less than 50 jobs excluded.
About Trade Me Jobs
More Kiwis visited Trade Me Jobs (www.trademe.co.nz/jobs) than any other job board in 2012 (Source:
Nielsen Net Ratings: Monthly Unique Audience). Full details of pay by profession for full-time jobs listed between July
and November June 2012 are in the updated Trade Me Jobs Salary Guide.