Here's where your best chance is of getting a job right now

Wednesday, 9 October 2019

If you're looking for a job, Wellington is the place to be, data from Trade Me shows.

While Auckland had almost 15 per cent fewer job listings on the site in the third quarter of this year than at the same time in 2018, and Canterbury 11.5 per cent fewer, Wellington's listings were up 2.6 per cent.

 'Throughout this year we've seen cracks appearing in the New Zealand job market - with business confidence down. The third quarter of this year is no different, nationwide, the employment market continued to weaken as employers put the brakes on hiring and job listings fell 7.8 per cent on last year,' said Trade Me Jobs spokesman Matt Tolich.

But he said Wellington had a different picture. As well as more job ads, advertised wages were up 6 per cent to $68,649, making it the highest-earning region in the country.

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'With more jobs on offer, more money on the table and applications down 6.6 per cent on last year, it's a good time to be a job hunter in Wellington.'

He said part of that was due to the government taking on more staff – the government and council sector had a year-on-year increase of 13.6 per cent in listings.

Hawke's Bay was the best performing of the regions, up 9.8 per cent.

But Northland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty also felt the impact of low business confidence. In those areas, job listings fell 6.5 per cent, 5.6 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively.

'With a few notable exceptions, it's a tough market around the country - there are less opportunities and businesses appear to be holding back while they see what the economy has in store,' Tolich said.

Engineering was the sector most affected by the slowdown – engineering job listings were down 23.5 per cent compared to 2018. The number of sales jobs also fell 24.6 per cent.

Marketing, media and communications job listings were up 10.7 per cent.

Tolich said it was still a job hunter's market for skilled candidates. 'While jobs listings may be down, some employers are still finding it tough to find the skilled talent they require, and this continues to constrain the growth of many businesses.

 'Skilled workers are in hot demand across several sectors including trades and services, construction and roading, and transport and logistics.'

Tolich said for unskilled roles, however, it was a different story. 'Heightened business uncertainty has employers thinking twice about filling less skilled roles which is making it harder for some candidates to secure a job.'

Employees in central Wellington now earn more than those in central Auckland, with jobs advertised at $73,374 compared to $72,161 respectively.

Tolich said that was the first time since early 2018 that Wellington City had overtaken Auckland City in the 'wage war'.

Nationwide, the average advertised salary rose 2.2 per cent compared to 2018, to $62,356. It offered the highest-paying roles.