Boost in job opportunities for Kiwis in February

Business Reporter·NZ Herald·

21 Mar, 2017 09:00 PM2 mins to read

New job advertisements rose more than 17 per cent in February. Photo / 123RF

Job advertisements increased 17.3 per cent last month compared to the same period last year, according to job listing website Seek.

Information and communication technology, trade and services, and manufacturing, transport and logistics were found to be the industries with the most job opportunities in February.

The average advertised salary for a job in technology services was cited as $92,700, $59,423 for trades and services and $66,805 for manufacturing, transport and logistics.

Tech remained the top hiring industry for Auckland and Wellington for the month.

The Auckland region alone netted a 19.2 per cent year-on-year increase on advertised job opportunities. Wellington job ads were up 11.8 per cent.

Canterbury job ads dipped 2.6 per cent year-on-year.

Seek New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said increased job advertising in February was fuelled by a solid job ad uplift across the country.

"February was a great month to be a job seeker in New Zealand, because there was strong year-on-year job ad growth across several large employing industries on Seek beyond ICT," she said.

Job advertising in manufacturing, transport & logistics increased 26 per cent, healthcare and medical 23 per cent, the trade and services sector was up 18 per cent and the construction sector up 12 per cent.

"The large industries hiring now reflect what we're seeing in our economy, which is population growth putting pressure on our services and infrastructure. This is driving demand across construction, trades and services and healthcare, which are all at the front line of servicing our growing population," Faulding said.

Industry focus

At a national level, job ads for human resources and the recruitment industry grew 32 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Human resources and recruitment professionals were found to be in high demand and the average advertised annual salaries started from $69,597 and ranged to $91,825.