Job vacancies fall at record rate

Job vacancy numbers fell at record rates in March in another sign of softening in the economy.

The Labour Department's Job Vacancy Monitor (JVM) released today showed an 8 per cent drop in advertised job vacancies for March 2006, compared to a year earlier.

That equalled the largest annual decline in any month since the inception of the JVM.

The fall continued a trend, with figures for the past six months all showing a decline in vacancies compared to a year earlier.

Despite the decline, advertised vacancies were still 26 per cent higher in March 2006 than in March 2003.

Vacancies for highly skilled jobs, which had grown at an annual average rate of 20 per cent in the first three-quarters of 2005, fell 7 per cent in March compared to a year earlier.

In the skilled job category, vacancies fell 15 per cent on the year earlier, while the demand for trades workers was down by a quarter -- the 11th consecutive monthly fall. In the semi-skilled/elementary category, vacancies were down 6 per cent.

A big factor in the national decline was a fall in the largest region, Auckland, which slipped 32 per cent, the steepest fall in the country. Nelson/Tasman was nearly as bad with a fall of 30 per cent.

Strongest percentage growth in vacancies was recorded in Gisborne, which rose 21 per cent, followed by Waikato up 18 per cent and Wellington up 12 per cent.

Information Technology vacancies, which are measured separately from other vacancies, were up 46 per cent in March from the same month in 2005, with 59 per cent growth in Christchurch, and 45 per cent growth in Wellington and Auckland.

- NZPA