Job vacancies in Rotorua are up amid renewed signs of an economic resurgence across the country.
Employment website Seek recorded a 9 per cent increase in Bay of Plenty job listings last month to 603, up from 554 in February 2013.
The number of people applying for jobs also rose, up 16 per cent, as local job seekers grew more confident.
The figures follow Statistics NZ data last month that showed unemployment had risen across the Bay to 9.3 per cent in the three months to December compared to 6.9 per cent the previous quarter, and the number of people with jobs fell to 115,800.
However Statistics New Zealand cautioned the Bay's unemployment rate fluctuated each quarter because the area traditionally offered a lot of seasonal work. Personnel Resources Rotorua team leader Angelique Tizard said more positions had been available in February compared with a year ago, but there were still more job seekers than positions.