Trade Me job listings up from last year

Job listings on internet auction site Trade Me are up 25 per cent on a year ago, with growth particularly strong in Southland and Gisborne.

The 33,000 jobs listed on the site in the three months from January to March beat expectations, given poor economic growth and Christchurch's deadly February earthquake.

In Christchurch, listings were up 21 per cent on the same three months a year earlier, although they declined sharply after the quake, Trade Me jobs head Peter Ashby said.

Most regions saw a rise in job listings led by Gisborne, up 105 per cent on a year earlier, and Southland, up 44 per cent.

Auckland job listings were up 30 per cent, and in Wellington they rose 26 per cent.

Only two regions saw a decline - Nelson/Tasman, down 10 per cent, and Northland, down 7 per cent.

The improvement was less dramatic compared with the previous quarter, with total listings up 4 per cent on the three months from October to December.

Wellington City had the highest paid full-time jobs, with an average pay rate of $77,000, followed by Auckland City's $74,118.

At the other end of the scale was Hastings where the average pay rate was $46,072.

In terms of jobs, IT project managers were the highest paid positions with an average $130,359 pay rate, while receptionist was the lowest position on $34,093.

- NZPA