14 May 2014
Skilled job vacancies down in April – overall annual rise
In April skilled job vacancies advertised online fell by 1.8 per cent but over the last year have risen by 9.4 per cent,
according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s latest Jobs Online report.
Online advertisements for all vacancies in April decreased by 1.0 per cent and across most industry groups. The only
increase was in the hospitality and tourism industry (up 1.4 per cent).
Skilled job vacancies fell in two regions – Auckland and Wellington. The only increase in skilled jobs was in the
Canterbury region, up 0.4 per cent.
Skilled job vacancies fell in two occupation groups over April – professionals (down 2.2 per cent) and managers (down
0.7 per cent).
However, in the year to April, skilled job vacancies increased in most industry groups, except for the healthcare and
medical industry (down 9.9 per cent). The biggest increases were in the hospitality and tourism industry (up 31.2 per
cent) and construction and engineering industry (up 22.3 per cent).
In the year to April the strongest growing skilled occupations in each occupation group were construction managers, ICT
sales professionals and precision metal trades workers, up 57, 136 and 95 per cent respectively.
The Ministry’s Labour Market and Business Performance Manager David Paterson says the annual increase in vacancies is
consistent with the latest results from the Household Labour Force Survey where employment grew by 3.7 per cent in the
year to March 2014.
Jobs Online provides information on the demand for labour by monitoring the number of jobs advertised on the main internet job
boards. Jobs Online is adjusted for seasonal variations.
ENDS