Public Service Cuts: 'Rough' Months Ahead For Those Out Of Work

Monday, 23 December 2024, 8:26 pm
Article: RNZ

Lauren Crimp, Reporter

Out-of-work public servants have been slogging it out on a months-long job hunt - and for some that will continue into 2025, in a job market that a recruiter says remains "rough".

Meanwhile, some who have secured employment say they have made significant compromises.

Following growth in the public sector under the Labour government, Finance Minister Nicola Willis made it clear at the beginning of the year it was time to cut back.

Thousands of roles have since been slashed, and public servants have found themselves competing for few jobs against stacks of qualified candidates.

Asher Wilson-Goldman was working on the government's Let's Get Wellington Moving project, before losing his job in March when it was turned over to Wellington City Council's control.

After nearly four months of hunting, he secured a short-term contract at the end of June - but that ended on 20 December.

He did not know what he would do in 2025, he said.

"There's very, very few jobs around ... the situation's worse than it was earlier in the year when I was initially looking, just in terms of the sheer number of highly qualified candidates in similar positions to me, being made redundant.

"We're all just fighting against each other for the few jobs that are available."

While it would be nice to have a summer break, the crunch would begin again in February and March when recruitment restarted, and he would turn back to spending his days applying for jobs online and meeting up with former colleagues to try and drum up opportunities.

"I'm very much prepared for the fact that it could be months before I find another role."

The savings he and his partner had would not last forever, he said.

'I'm just bloody tired'

Another public servant, who did not want to be named, had enjoyed the flexibility of contracting for eight years before losing that amid the cutbacks.

"Pretty much all of those contracts disappeared."

She became a first-time beneficiary, and was on the jobseeker benefit for three months. In interview after interview, she was told she had the right experience, but was one of a huge pile of qualified applicants.

She was offered a two-week contract - and took what she could get.

"I thought, 'that's ridiculous, two weeks' work', but then I thought ... 'it makes a difference from sitting on the couch'," she said.

It turned into six months' work - and just as that time was up, a previous employer asked her to apply for a permanent role, which she managed to get.

She counted herself lucky, but missed the flexibility and the money from contracting - she had taken about a 20 percent pay cut.

It had been a tough year, underpinned by anxiety about job security, she said.

"To be honest with you, I'm just bloody tired."

'Glimmers of hope' - recruiter

The job market was still looking "rough" heading into 2025 - but there were "glimmers of hope across the horizon", Shay Peters, head of recruitment firm Robert Walters, said.

The team responsible for hiring policy advisors was getting slightly busier nearing the end of the year, which was a good sign, he said.

"It means things are happening and once policy is set in stone ... then you typically find project teams that need to be recruited to implement.

"Any government in the middle year of the political cycle have to get things accomplished, and move certain things forward that are on their agenda."

But it was still slow going, he said.

"Whilst I don't want to sound too bleak, we haven't seen any massive upswing yet for the capital city ... which concerns me for the wider economy, for hospital and retail."

Lots of candidates were still moving overseas, and many Wellingtonians especially were seeking out warmer climates like Brisbane.

"And it's not that the market is booming in Brisbane. It is stronger than it is in Wellington, but people are moving for lifestyle now.

"There are people who are thinking, 'I'm going to be unemployed here, I could be unemployed there', and the prospects are being redeployed in Australia at the moment are stronger than they are in New Zealand."

Jobseekers were nervous about their medium-term prospects in the capital, Peters said.

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