KEY POINTS:
The strong economy has created big skill shortages which are here to stay for some time, according to a report released today by the Department of Labour.
The Skills in the Labour Market report, covering the June 2007 quarter, showed that the working-age population grew by only 0.2 per cent, the lowest quarterly result for nearly two years.
This, combined with falling net migration (from 14,800 in the year to November 2006 to 10,100 in the year to June 2007) means employers have had a smaller pool of people available to recruit from, said the department's deputy secretary for work directions, Monique Dawson.
"The labour market has been showing this trend for some time and employers know they need to think outside the square when it comes to recruiting," she said.
"They need to consider retraining and upskilling existing staff before looking for new people, and offer attractive terms of employment."
The skill shortages were an inevitable consequence of strong economic growth, Ms Dawson said.
The shortages were described in the report as a "long-term feature" of the job market, with conditions expected to remain tight.
The unemployment rate has stayed below 4 per cent for three years and fell to an equal record low of 3.6 per cent in the June 2007 quarter.
The report showed a slight increase in firms having difficulty attracting skilled staff, up to 42 per cent from 41 per cent in the March 2007 quarter.
This was the highest level for nearly two years, and was now above the 40 per cent average of the past six years.
An increase in firms having difficulty finding unskilled labour was also identified, up to 26 per cent from 21 per cent in the March 2007 quarter. It is now above the 21 per cent average of the past six years.
The data contained in the report came principally from the Institute of Economic Research's quarterly survey of business opinion and from the Department of Labour's job vacancy monitoring programme.
- NZPA
