More jobs up for grabs

Job advertisement figures released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) show the number of job advertisements rose by 2.0 per cent in the December 2018 quarter.

“This increase is slightly higher than the 1.7 per cent quarterly average seen in September 2018, with Health and Primary Industries contributing most to the rise,” says Dr Rose Ryan, Workforce and Workplace manager.

This quarter’s growth in vacancies is consistent with the trend for business confidence.

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion shows a net five per cent of businesses increased their headcount and their hiring intentions remained steady in the December 2018 quarter.

The construction and engineering, business services and the health sector showed the strongest increase across most of the regions.

Dr Ryan says the three regions with the highest increase over the quarter were in Gisborne/Hawkes Bay, Northland, and Manawatu. Only Canterbury had a fall in vacancies in the December 2018 quarter.

Online advertising saw the strongest increase in professional occupations and machinery operator and driver groups across almost all of the regions. S emi-skilled jobs, especially in sales continued to show the weakest increase.

MBIE measures changes in online job advertisements from four internet job boards – SEEK, Trade Me Jobs, Education Gazette and Kiwi Health Jobs. Job vacancies are an important indicator of labour demand and changes in the economy.