IT is the place to be as job market increases 14% in final quarter

The IT sector is on a 'meteoric' long-term rise. Photo / Thinkstock

New Zealand's job market is on a high with double-digit growth in the final quarter of last year and IT workers, builders and architects in most demand.

Peter Osborne, Trade Me Jobs head, said 56,000 roles were listed on the website last year and job growth was up 14 per cent in the December quarter compared to 2013's final quarter.

The IT sector continued its "meteoric" long-term rise with the number of roles advertised up a further 11.6 per cent year-on-year.

IT salaries made up all five of the highest-paid roles, as employers continued to face a continued short supply of experienced staff, he said.

"It's a good time to be schooled up in technology, as IT architect salaries top the bunch at an average salary of $150,000, an increase of 11 per cent on the previous year," Osborne said.

Construction is also a big job growth driver because of the many big infrastructure and housing projects, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch.

"The construction and architecture sector managed a 38 per cent increase nationally, underpinned by a 67 per cent increase in Auckland, and a 24 per cent increase in Canterbury. In Auckland, we've seen two clients open industrial and construction recruitment branches in the city due to such high demand for workers," he said.

Transport and logistics grew 22.1 per cent nationally, manufacturing and operations by 17.6 per cent, trades and services by 15.9 per cent, and in the lead-up to Christmas retail jobs grew 15.2 per cent year-on-year.

The number of Auckland jobs rose 20 per cent, Canterbury up 10 per cent, Wellington up almost 8 per cent and the Bay of Plenty up 26 per cent.

"Looking back over the whole of 2014, it's been a bumper year. Industrial sectors like automotive, construction, manufacturing, operations and the trades are all surging, and we've seen a lot more job opportunities created."

Statistics NZ's latest data for the September quarter compared to the June quarter showed job growth outstripping population growth.

The number of people employed increased by 18,000 and the employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 65.2 per cent.