Continued job growth for Canterbury amid national pause

Canterbury has bucked the national trend to be the only region in New Zealand to see continued growth in the number of job ads listed in May.

The SEEK New Job Ad Index has shown an increase of 1.5% in Canterbury, in contrast to the rest of New Zealand where the number of new jobs advertised has dipped for the first time this year.

“Canterbury is the only region in New Zealand to see sustained growth in the number of new jobs this month. Unsurprisingly, this surge in demand continues to be driven by the city’s reconstruction work,” comments Janet Faulding, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand.

“The impact of the rebuild on the employment market is echoed in the most sought after employee’s data, with structural engineers listed as one of the most in demand positions in the Canterbury region.”

This positive growth in the Canterbury employment market can also be seen in the region’s 6.2% rise in the SEEK Employment Index (SEI) for May. The SEI is the ratio of new jobs ads placed on seek.co.nz to applications for these positions. This growth in the SEI shows the number of new jobs in Canterbury is rising faster than the number of applications.

Janet Faulding explains that the SEI decrease across the rest of the country is confirmation of the predicted increase in job searching activity;

“While the SEI has fallen in May this is not a sign of weakness in the labour market but evidence of renewed job seeking. As job listings have increased since the start of the year kiwis who were perhaps waiting for more stable conditions in the employment market before having the confidence to look for their next role are now showing signs of actively applying themselves to the job hunt.”

Despite the slight dip in the month-on-month growth of new job ads listed on seek.co.nz in May, the number of new jobs available is still up 20% compared to the same period last year and there are currently over 15,000 jobs onsite.

Job Applications
May’s top five most competitive occupations:

1. Retail and Consumer Products – Retail Assistants
2. Information and Communication Technology – Help Desk and IT support
3. Administration and Office Support – Receptionist
4. Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics – Warehousing, Storage and Distribution
5. Hospitality and Tourism – Chefs / Cooks

Retail Assistants was the most competitive occupation for May, with these roles receiving more applications per role than any other classification, moving up from third position in April. Chefs and Cooks entered the list for the first time in 2011.

May’s top five most sought after employees:

1. Information and Communication Technology – Consultants
2. Engineering – Civil/Structural Engineering
3. Trades and Services – Automotive Trades
4. Healthcare and Medical – Psychology, Counselling and Social Work
5. Accounting – Business Services and Corporate Advisory

IT Consultants were the most sought after employees in May with these roles receiving the least number of applications per job advertised. Psychology, Counselling and Social Work positions in the Healthcare and Medical industry have re-entered the list of roles that receive least applications after not featuring since the start of the year.