Online Skilled Job Vacancies Slip In December

25 january 2012

The number of skilled job vacancies advertised online decreased slightly across most industry and occupation groups in December compared to the previous month but were up 7.7% on December 2010, according to the latest analysis by the Department of Labour.

The latest results from the Department’s Jobs Online index show that skilled job vacancies fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% in December compared to November. Job vacancies overall also fell by 1.8%.

Compared to December 2010, skilled job vacancies rose 7.7% and all job vacancies rose by 7.2%. Growth in skilled job vacancies was strongest in Canterbury where they were up 40.6% compared with December 2010.

“This growth in the Canterbury region is largely due to reconstruction activities in the area,” says the Department’s Acting General Manager of Labour and Immigration Research, Sankar Ramasamy.

“The monthly nationwide decrease shows employers were cautious about hiring over December, while the trending downwards since a peak in May 2011 indicates a sluggish labour market. The department forecasts employment growth of 1.3% in the March 2012 year and 1.6% in 2013,” Mr Ramasamy says.

“Information technology vacancies were up by 6.2% on November and showed the strongest growth in December 2011.The biggest falls were in construction and engineering, down 8.9%, and education and training, which fell 8.2%.”

The only regional increase was in Canterbury where skilled vacancies grew by 2.2% in the last month. Canterbury industries with the biggest growth in skilled vacancies were information technology (up 20.6%) and education and training industries (up 19.5%).

• Jobs Online provides information on the demand for labour by monitoring the number of jobs advertised on SEEK and Trade Me Jobs. Jobs Online is adjusted for seasonal variations.
• The December Jobs Online report is available at: http://dol.govt.nz/publications/jol/report/
• For information about Jobs Online visit the Department of Labour website: http://dol.govt.nz/publications/jol/methodology/

Web:www.dol.govt.nz

ENDS

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