Fall in job ads blamed on early Easter

An early Easter break this year dragged the number of jobs advertised in major newspapers down 2.6 per cent last month, says ANZ's monthly Job Ads series.

That fall partly counters the 4.8 per cent increase in February. Job advertising levels have fallen for six of the past eight months, leaving the series 12.4 per cent below its peak in July last year and 9.7 per cent below levels recorded 12 months ago.

ANZ chief economist David Drage said interpretation of last month's results was complicated by the timing of the Easter break.

"It is likely that the early Easter this year has put a downward pressure on the March job advertising levels, with job advertising tending to wane during holiday periods."

But because it was only the second time in the Job Ads series' eight-year history that Easter weekend had fallen wholly in March, "we are unable to make a specific seasonal adjustment to account for it".

Auckland was the only region to hold on to February's gains, strengthening by 0.6 per cent over the month after an 11.6 per cent increase in February.

"The fact that job ads in the City of Sails managed to post a further gain in the face of a possible early Easter effect is testament to the strength that has developed in the Auckland regional economy during the past few months," Drage said.

Wellington job ads fell by 9.7 per cent last month, against February's 12.2 per cent rise; Christchurch job ads declined by 6.4 per cent after a 5.6 per cent increase in February; and Otago job ads went down 10.5 per cent after an 11 per cent boost in February.

Internet job ads bucked the trend, rising by 3.4 per cent over the month.

But that was a far cry from the stellar 27 per cent increase recorded in February, and the internet series remains 33 per cent below its peak last June.

- NZPA