New Zealanders grew more pessimistic in the June quarter as they grew increasingly worried about job security as a swelling population increases competition for work and continues to keep a lid on wages.
The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index fell 3.3 points to 101.5 in the June quarter, giving up gains in the previous quarter and running below its five-year average. A reading above 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists. The present conditions index fell 2.1 points to 97.6 while the employment expectations index dropped 4.1 points to 104.2.
New Zealand's labour market has been improving this year as booming construction and tourism sectors underpin economic activity, while record net inflows of migrants have buoyed consumer demand. That expansion has created new jobs, though the growing population has led to a larger workforce, keeping wages static.
A net 5.3 per cent of the 1555 respondents said they had expected more job security over the coming year, down from 12.8 per cent in the March quarter, while a net 28.4 per cent said jobs were hard to get at the moment, an improvement on the net 28.8 percent reading in March. Workers were more pessimistic about their opportunities, with a net 17.1 per cent picking it will be harder to get a job in a year's time, up from a net 15.8 per cent in the March quarter.
Earnings expectations were also weak, with a net 23.6 per cent of respondents paid more now than they were a year earlier, down from 28.2 per cent in March, and a net 24.4 per cent expecting to get a pay rise in 12 months' time, down from 27.8 per cent in the March quarter.
