Workers still confident about employment prospects

Nationwide confidence in the employment market remained steady in the September quarter, the latest Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index shows.

The index was 130.1 in the September quarter, virtually unchanged from 103.2 in the previous quarter.

A number over 100 indicates there are more optimists than pessimists.

While workers are confident about the present, they are more cautious about future prospects.

The Current Employment Conditions Index, looking at perceptions of job opportunities and the change in personal earnings in the past 12 months, was 145.6 while the Employment Expectations Index, measuring expectations for the year ahead, was significantly lower at 119.7.

Westpac senior economist Nick Tuffley said employees were continuing to reap the benefits of an economy that was operating at the upper end of the capacity scale.

"Nevertheless, workers also continue to recognise that the economy is slowing and future job availability will likely become less rosy, meaning that support for consumption spending will gradually wane," he said.

While confidence was virtually unchanged on a nationwide basis, there were shifts in the regions.

Confidence picked up in metropolitan areas, from 130.1 in the June quarter to 132.2 in the September quarter.

In contrast, confidence waned in smaller centres, from 132.2 to 128.9, and rural areas, falling from 129.4 to 128.7.

- NZPA