New data shows employer hiring plans in New Zealand still on the rise
ManpowerGroup advises companies to focus on their talent strategy
11 March 2014 - Hiring in New Zealand is expected to continue its upward trajectory in the second quarter of the year,
according to the latest results from the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey. Hiring intentions across the country have
increased by 6 percentage points to a Net Employment Outlook of +27%.
The survey, which asks 650 New Zealand employers about their hiring plans for the coming quarter, has found that 33 per
cent of employers plan to increase hiring in Q2 this year, 4 percent plan to decrease and 62 per cent will make no
change. The resulting Outlook of +27% is the strongest reported by New Zealand’s employers in nearly seven years.
“The Q2 results are aligned with a number of recent economic forecasts across NZ that demonstrate increasing business
confidence across all major industries and geographies for 2014,” said Lincoln Crawley, Managing Director of
ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand said.
“The Christchurch rebuild has gained substantial momentum and a number of major civil, residential and infrastructure
projects are coming on line nationally, all of which is driving hiring in Mining & Construction and the wider market. The results show the hiring Outlook in Mining and Construction is at +47%, the
strongest Outlook on record,” he said.
“In particular, ManpowerGroup highlighted that demand for structural, geotechnical engineers, commercial and residential
construction project managers, quantity surveyors and all skilled trades is high,” he added.
Mr Crawley said following a 16 month expansion in New Zealand’s Manufacturing sector, demand for workers has started to
ramp up.
“Despite the high NZ dollar and exchange rate with Australia, demand is high for construction materials, with future
projections remaining positive in both domestic and international markets. This is driving an increasing need for
high-skilled machine operators, trades and Research & Development engineers and specialists in the field,” he said.
“As the demand for talent in NZ heats up, employers need to bring their talent strategy to the forefront of business
planning,” Mr Crawley suggested. ”Employers need to start planning for the talent they will need in Q2 and Q3 this year
now.
“Will talent be developed from within the organisations through increased focus on Learning and Development? Will they
require more agility through the utilisation of pools of skilled contingent labour? Or will they require a strategy
around global talent attraction?”
“Whatever the strategy, building a talent pipeline takes time and should be a key business focus in a talent short
market,” Mr Crawley said.
Across the regions, employers in Christchurch and Auckland reported an quarter-on-quarter increase in hiring intentions
of 6 percentage points to a Net Employment Outlook of +27%. In Wellington, employers expect a slight rise in Outlook of
2 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to +24%
Across the sectors, Mining and Construction employers expect to see a considerable increase in hiring. The Outlook of
+47% represents an improvement of 19 percentage points in both a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year comparison and is
the most optimistic forecast reported by employers in the sector since New Zealand started the survey in 2004.
Manufacturing hiring Outlook is expected to rise 13 percentage points to +25% quarter-on-quarter.
In Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, employers reported a 10 percentage increase from last quarter to an Outlook of
+37%. Over the same period, Services and Transport and Utilities also both expect an increase hiring, with Outlook
reported at +31% and +33% respectively.
Employers in Wholesale and Retail Trade expect a small drop in hiring intentions from last quarter, down 4 percentage
points to +19%. In line with government cuts, Public Administration and Education hiring Outlook is expected to fall
slightly to +12%.
Table 1. NZ Net Employment Outlook Comparison by Region
Q2 2014Quarter-on-Quarter
changeYear-on-year
changeNational+27%+6%+6%Auckland+27%+6%+5%Christchurch+27%+6%-1%Wellington+24%+2%+4%
Table 2. NZ Net Employment Outlook Comparison by Sector
Q4 2013Quarter-on-quarter
changeYear-on-year
changeNational+27%+6%+6%Finance, Insurance & Real Estate+37%+10%+13%Manufacturing+25%+13%+7%Mining &
Construction+47%+19%+19%Public
Admin/Education+12%-3%-13%Services+31%+6%+10%Transport & Utilities+33%+9%0%Wholesale & Retail Trade+19%-4%-1%
ENDS