Hiring intentions hit high in south

Roman Rogers, executive general manager of Hudson. Photo / Ted Baghurst

An eight-year hiring intentions high in the South Island is more than double the national average, according to the Hudson Report Employment and HR Trends, who say 40.1 per cent of employers in the region intend to bolster their workforce in the next quarter.

Insurance and government payouts are spurring the growth.

"Treasury has predicted that the influx of government and insurance money will contribute to an economic rebuild that is now likely to be larger and longer lived than previously thought," says Roman Rogers, executive general manager of Hudson.

Hudson said 18 per cent of businesses nationwide planned to hire new staff, down 4.6 per cent on last quarter and 6.4 per cent compared to the same period last year. This decline echoed statements in the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (QSBO), despite an increase of 1 per cent in actual hirings for the past quarter.

"The positivity is in Canterbury, with the rest of the country showing signs of flattening or slowing."

The reason for slowing of employment across the rest of the nation is because of businesses keeping an eye on external factors, says Rogers in the Hudson report.

"Many employers are considering the potential impact of external factors, like recent events in Europe," he said.