The New Zealand employment market closed on a high in 2014 with double-digit growth in the last three months.
The number of jobs advertised on Trade Me in the October to December 2014 quarter was up by almost 14 per cent over the same period in 2013.
The Bay of Plenty recorded the biggest increase, up 26.3 per cent on 2013. Other regions with solid growth were Canterbury (13.4 per cent), Manawatu/Wanganui (13.6 per cent) and the Waikato (13.9 per cent).
Bethlehem Cafe Eden owner Kim Brown said he had been running a job advertisement for two experienced baristas for the past couple of weeks and so far had received 50-60 replies.
"Unfortunately, the vast majority of applicants do not meet the job criteria. But the right person needs to not only have certain skills and experience, but also be prepared to take instructions and fit with the rest of my great staff," he said.
Mr Brown said the cafe employed eight staff and he was looking for two baristas to replace staff moving on and he was also looking for a full-timer to keep up with demand because Cafe Eden was a "very busy daytime cafe" with a huge clientele.
Mr Brown said he had one or two people come in to drop off their CV and trialled a couple of applicants and hoped to fill the vacancy by the end of this week.
A Mount surfing retailer, who did not wish to named, said six weeks before the summer holiday started, he had taken on two extra casual staff, which had doubled his workforce.
The retailer said he did not need to advertise on Trade Me jobs or Seek as the positions were snapped up by the successful applicants who heard of the vacancies through word of mouth.
Head of Trade Me Jobs, Peter Osborne, said the job market in New Zealand was "surging".
"Looking back over the whole of 2014, it's been a bumper year. Industrial sectors such as automotive, construction, manufacturing, operations and the trades are all surging, and we've seen a lot more job opportunities created," he said.
"With New Zealand being in good economic health, retail jobs were also up, and these factors have collectively helped to create a very buoyant job market."
Further growth in industrial roles was expected for 2015, Mr Osborne said.
"With Auckland and Christchurch focused on infrastructure and housing requirements, we will likely see more growth in trade and services, construction and architecture, and transport and logistics in 2015," he said.
"Other parts of the country also continue to show signs of a very strong job market and these are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. We expect to see the double-digit growth in job advertising to continue well into 2015."
In the sectors, executive and general management roles increased by 83.8 per cent followed by construction and architecture positions with an increase of 38 per cent on the fourth quarter in 2013.
The transport and logistics sector grew 22.1 per cent nationally, manufacturing and operations by 17.6 per cent and trades and services by 15.9 per cent.
In the lead-up to Christmas, retail jobs also grew by 15.2 per cent year-on-year.
