Description: Description: Description: Description: Description: MBIE logoMedia release

11 June 2013

Short term employment prospects positive

Employment is forecast to grow by about 130,000 jobs over the next three years, reports the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

The Ministry’s report Short-term Employment Prospects: 2013 – 16 forecasts overall employment demand rising in response to stronger economic growth, associated mainly with above average employment growth for Auckland industries and from the Canterbury rebuild.

Over the same period, the unemployment rate is expected to trend down slowly and decline below 5% by the March 2016 quarter.

Key findings of the report are:

• Strong employment growth is expected in the construction and utilities industries over the next 3 years while the prospects for employment in other industries vary over time.

• Growth in demand for employment in highly skilled jobs (that is, managers and professionals across a number of areas) will be consistently high over the forecast period, accounting for about 50% of the overall employment growth.

• Opportunities for lower-skilled workers are expected to account for about 35% of the employment growth over the period. The food processing, retailing, accommodation, agriculture and construction industries are expected to create most of these opportunities.

• Auckland and Canterbury will account for almost half of the employment growth over the next three years.

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