Announcement
GENERAL: TME: Trade Me Jobs - quarterly NZ job market release
01:16pm
TME
18/04/2019 13:16
GENERAL
NOT PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 1316 HRS Trade Me Group Limited
GENERAL: TME: Trade Me Jobs - quarterly NZ job market release
Media Release
18 April 2019
Employment market goes cold
After some very strong years New Zealand's job market has markedly weakened
according to analysis of almost 62,000 vacancies listed on Trade Me Jobs for
the quarter ending 31 March 2019.
Head of Trade Me Jobs Jeremy Wade said there had been signs for the past nine
months that the extremely strong job market was weakening but the sudden
decline in the first three months of 2019 had been a "surprise". "New job
listings were down 6.1 per cent year-on-year this quarter, that's the first
drop we've seen in the past 10 years.
"Our data shows that the private sector job market peaked around the start of
2018 and there has been a significant (5-10 per cent) tail off since then.
The decline in business confidence is now reducing new hiring"
Mr Wade noted that employer caution is reducing new listings and advertised
wages, despite difficult filling vacancies. "Salaries were up just 1.1 per
cent year-on-year this quarter. "This is having a knock on effect in terms of
how long it takes to fill positions too. Without higher wages, there's little
incentive for skilled job hunters to jump ship.
"The numbers we're seeing suggest that this slow wage growth is likely to
continue for the rest of 2019."
Mr Wade said that despite the decline in listings, the talent shortage
remains. "New Zealand's talent shortage is a structural problem and is not
resolved with a decline in number of jobs on offer. Unfortunately there are
still sectors where the demand for skills outstrips supply, which requires
better long-term planning and investment by Government and Industries".
Pain for Auckland and optimism for the regions Mr Wade said the weakness in
job vacancies is concentrated in the main centres: Auckland and Canterbury
were down 13.1 and 10.3 per cent respectively while the Wellington region was
up just 0.3 per cent.
"Auckland has driven much of the downturn we're seeing. The start of 2019 has
been brutal for the Super City's employment market. As well as listings being
down, average pay has dropped (down 0.3 per cent).
"Auckland's dip has been spectacular in just how suddenly it's come about.
Auckland employers appear to pessimistic rather than just cautious about the
future and they're battening down the hatches. It could be an interesting
year."
Meanwhile many of the smaller regions many saw jumps in vacancies. "Gisborne
(up 36.9 per cent), Hawke's Bay (up 15.1 per cent), Southland (up 14.5 per
cent) and the West Coast (up 23.1 per cent) all saw impressive jumps in
listings. However, Mr Wade warned that this could be a temporary state of
affairs as the Auckland knock-on effect could spread in the coming months and
years.
"Over two years ago we saw Auckland growing strong and that gradually flowed
through to the regions. While the regions continue to hold strong, we're
concerned how they will be impacted in another year or so.
"We will watch with interest whether stimulus from the Provincial Growth Fund
enables the regions to buck the trend. We tend to see a lag of over a year
before the regions are impacted. In the absence of any other stimulus, we'd
expect the regions to also decline in the near future."
Changes in the sectors Mr Wade said the dip in confidence in the job market
was evident when looking across the sectors. "Of the 26 sectors we have on
Trade Me Jobs 16 had lower job vacancies compared with the first quarter of
2018.
"Many of these sectors have seen sustained growth for the last few years and
now they're dropping off those incredible highs. Sales (down 18.8 per cent)
and Customer Service (down 18 per cent) were both down significantly on 2018.
"We'll be watching to see how this apparent downturn impacts the other
sectors over the rest of the year and beyond."
IT still the most lucrative career "IT roles continue to dominate the highest
paying roles on Trade Me Jobs, taking out the top five spots," said Mr Wade.
IT architects topped the list with an average pay of $155,530 followed by IT
project management roles earning an average wage of $149,759.
"While the IT sector saw a 4 per cent drop in vacancies compared to this time
last year, there's still demand from employers and they're willing to pay top
dollar to lure people to change employers."
ENDS
MORE INFORMATION:
Interviews and regional data: Jeremy Wade is available for interviews. To
arrange an interview with Jeremy or for regional data, please contact Logan
Mudge by emailing mediaenquiries@trademe.co.nz or phone (027) 477 9486.
National data: The full Trade Me Jobs Q1 2019 results are set out below.
Please let us know if there's any regional data we can look into for you.
Table 1 - Total listings growth by region: Q1 2019
Region Year-on-year % change Q1 2019 vs Q1 2018
Auckland - 13.1%
Bay Of Plenty 1.0 %
Canterbury - 10.3%
Gisborne 36.9 %
Hawke's Bay 15.1 %
Manawatu / Wanganui - 5.2%
Marlborough 2.9 %
Nelson / Tasman 2.3 %
Northland - 3.5%
Otago 11.2 %
Southland 14.5 %
Taranaki 9.1 %
Waikato - 13.7%
Wellington 0.3 %
West Coast 23.1 %
Grand Total - 6.1%
Table 2 - Average rates of pay by sub-region: Q1 2019
Highest Paid Pay Rate
1 Auckland City $ 71,904
2 Wellington City $ 71,614
3 Waikato $ 67,134
4 Kaipara $ 66,714
5 South Taranaki $ 61,871
Lowest Paid Pay Rate
1 Hurunui $49,200
2 Mackenzie $50,028
3 Kaikoura $51,598
4 Western Bay of Plenty $52,446
5 Westland $52,676
Table 3 - Average rates of pay by sub-category: Q1 2019
Highest Paid Pay Rate
1 IT - Architects $155,530
2 IT - Project management $149,759
3 IT - Management $132,890
4 IT - Business & systems analysts $131,066
5 IT - Testing $130,570
Lowest Paid Pay Rate
1 Hospitality & tourism - Housekeeping $39,708
2 Hospitality & tourism - Kitchen staff $40,115
3 Retail - Retail assistants $41,445
4 Hospitality & tourism - Reception & front of house $42,270
5 Hospitality & tourism - Bar staff & baristas $42,383
End CA:00333555 For:TME Type:GENERAL Time:2019-04-18 13:16:53
Click here
to view related attachments.
