KEY POINTS:
Unemployment has been such a problem in Northland in recent years, it was often considered one of the toughest areas in the country to find work.
A job survey out today could go a long way towards changing that perception.
Employment is apparently booming in Northland, new data from Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) shows.
Although the region accounts for just one in every 35 New Zealand jobs, figures out today show the country's most northerly area had the highest job and earnings growth for the year, and the five years, to June 2006.
The information is included in analysis of Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED) which divides the country into 13 regions, six of which had job growth over the five years of between 19.7 per cent and Northland's 22.9 per cent.
Filled job numbers in Northland were also up 3.5 per cent for the year, taking the total to 49,400. Quarterly mean earnings in the region were $9170, up 6.1 per cent on the year and 27.5 per cent over five years.
For the country as a whole, job numbers were up 18 per cent over the five years and 2.4 per cent for the single year. Nationally, quarterly mean earnings were $10,420, up 21.9 per cent and 4.4 per cent.
The figures highlight Auckland's dominant role in the economy, with the region accounting for a third of the country's 1.75 million jobs and recording increases of 2.8 per cent for the year and 19.7 per cent for the five year period.
When it comes to earnings, Auckland has the second highest quarterly mean at $11,630, but earnings growth is among the country's slowest.
For one year the growth rate was 4 per cent and for five years 21 per cent, 11th place in both cases.
Wellington was the only region with higher quarterly mean earnings than Auckland at $11,700, but its lead is slipping.
For the five years it had the second slowest rate of earnings growth at 18.3 per cent, and for the year was in 10th place with 4.1 per cent.
The rate of job growth was also mostly bad news for Wellington, with the third slowest increase during the five years of 12.2 per cent.
At least things picked up for the capital in the last of those five years, when it recorded the second best result in the country at 3.2 per cent.
Wellington is the region with the third highest number of jobs in the country at 216,000, about two-fifths of the Auckland number.
Canterbury is second highest with 235,000, but its 17.6 per cent job growth over five years is slower than seven other regions.
Canterbury's quarterly mean earnings of $9590 are the fifth highest in the country, while the five-year 23.9 per cent earnings growth is also fifth highest.
A key point highlighted in today's data is the continued shift to the top half of the North Island of the country's economic clout.
Waikato had 21 per cent job growth over five years to 151,000, the third fastest growth rate and the fourth highest in total.
Bay of Plenty's 20.6 per cent growth in jobs was fourth fastest and its total of nearly 100,000 jobs the fifth highest.
Waikato had the third best five-year earnings increase with 24.4 per cent, although Bay of Plenty's 23.3 per cent put it in only seventh place.
Manufacturing industry was the single largest source of jobs for the country at 239,000, followed by property and business services at 237,000 and retail trade at 215,000.
- NZPA
