Job adverts rising, say publishers

Three of New Zealand's major job advertisers are reporting a jump in employment listings this year. Photo / Martin Sykes.

Three of New Zealand's major job advertisers - the Herald, Trade Me and Seek - are reporting increasing numbers of employment listings, indicating the labour market may be on the road to recovery.

The Herald reported a 15 to 20 per cent increase in job advertisements this year compared with the beginning of last year.

Advertising manager Greg Hornblow said the Herald's advertising section had had its "best start" to the year since 2005.

"That middle-management - 60 to 90k base salary - seems to be where the growth has been this year," he said.

Hornblow said across all sectors covered by the Herald's listings there was "more hiring going on."

Keith Muirhead, the head of Trade Me Jobs, said the website had 7373 job listings yesterday - an 11 per cent increase from last year's peak of 6647 jobs on October 9.

He said job listings had been "building solidly" over the last month.

BNZ Capital senior economist Craig Ebert said while any increase in job listings was a positive sign, care had to be taken when comparing new figures with those from last year.

"The thing to bear in mind is that this time a year ago was a time of intense distress, so you have to be careful about comparing any rates of change," said Ebert.

"[Any change] is coming off an extremely low base."

He said too few jobs were becoming available for new entrants into the labour market.

"If these people can't be absorbed, it's kind of like a game of musical chairs where you keep taking away the chairs and more people are left standing, unemployed," Ebert said.

Muirhead said sectors such as engineering, accounting and transport/logistics had seen a fall in Trade Me listings, while listings for front-line bank staff, building-related trades, business development managers and senior sales professionals had increased.

From a regional perspective, Gisborne, Marlborough, the West Coast, Hawkes Bay and Otago all saw listings increase by around 20 per cent last year, he said.

Muirhead said the Wellington region was one of the hardest hit in the second half of 2009, with a 7.4 per cent reduction in listings compared with the first half of the year.

He said the decrease in Wellington listings was mostly due to Government departments "tightening their belts".

Other regions which saw a reductions in listings last year included Southland, Nelson/Tasman, Taranaki, Manawatu and Wanganui.

Auckland accounted for 42 per cent of all listings, with Wellington at 22 per cent and Canterbury at 11.7 per cent, Muirhead added.

Seek general manager Annemarie Duff said from July to December last year the number of new job advertisements placed on the website increased every month, with overall growth of 16 per cent.

New January figures presented an even more positive outlook - with a 10.9 per cent growth in new jobs listings for the month, she said.

"Overall the seek employment index, which compares demand and supply for labour is up by 6.7 per cent, showing that there is an improved market for candidates," Duff said.

"Auckland leads this change at 12 per cent with Wellington slightly behind at 4.6 per cent. Things are more challenging for job seekers in Christchurch, though, where increased numbers of available candidates provide a tougher employment market."