Media release
18 September 2013
Decrease in skilled job vacancies in August
Online job vacancies for skilled workers have fallen following an increase in the past month, according to the Ministry
of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Jobs Online report.
The latest seasonally adjusted results show that online advertisements for skilled workers fell by 2.1 per cent in
August. Overall, online job vacancies fell by 3.7 per cent.
Vacancies for skilled workers decreased in most industry groups. The biggest falls were in the healthcare and medical
industry (down 9.6 per cent), and the accounting, HR and administration industry (down 6.0 per cent). The construction
and engineering industry had the largest monthly rise (up 5.8 per cent), followed by the hospitality and tourism
industry (up 1.4 per cent).
The only regional increase in skilled worker vacancies was in the North Island (excluding Auckland and Wellington) which
was up 2.6 per cent. The biggest fall was in the South Island (excluding Canterbury), down 13.3 per cent, followed by
Auckland (down 3.4 per cent) and Canterbury (down 1.5 per cent).
Over the past year, vacancies for skilled workers in Auckland had the biggest rise at 4.7 per cent, followed by
Canterbury (up 4.5 per cent). In Canterbury the largest increases were in the hospitality and tourism (up 23.0 per
cent), sales, retail, marketing and advertising (up 11.5 per cent) and construction and engineering (up 8.7 per cent)
industries.
“There has been an upward trend in skilled vacancies over the year. However, there are regional disparities, with
Canterbury, Auckland and the rest of the North Island (excluding Auckland and Wellington) growing, while other regions
have declined,” said the Ministry’s acting manager of Labour Market and Business Performance, Ben Wallace.
More information on Jobs Online is available at www.dol.govt.nz/publications/jol/index.asp.
ENDS