Kiwi job hunters have one thing on their mind - money

Sunday, 9 April 2023

ANZ economist Finn Robinson expects the official cash rate to hit 5%.

Kiwi job hunters have one thing on their mind – money.

That’s the conclusion of a new survey of 2300 New Zealanders conducted by Trade Me.

Trade Me Jobs sales director Matt Tolich said the new data also suggested employees were willing to do whatever it took for a pay increase, including moving within New Zealand or abroad.

In the survey, 71% of respondents ranked pay as the most important factors for their new job, and 63% said they were willing to relocate.

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Trade Me Jobs sales director Matt Tolich said Auckland, Canterbury, and the Bay of Plenty were the most popular regions Kiwi said they would relocate within Aotearoa for a new job

“Almost a quarter are even willing to go overseas if that will bring in more money,” Tolich said.

“This marks a change from what we saw last year, when work-life balance was the number one priority. This likely comes as more Kiwi feel the rising cost of living in their back pockets.”

The survey also highlighted how open to jumping-ship Kiwis had become, with only a quarter saying they were not looking for a new role at all, and wouldn't be open to change even if a new opportunity arose.

The economic uncertainty and the spectre of a recession also was not putting Kiwis off, or making them doubt their ability to find a new job.

Sharon Zollner, chief economist for ANZ, says Kiwis have not yet adjusted their spending habits in a way that would suggest they are putting more money away in preparation for a rainy day.

The survey found 87% of respondents said finding a job isn’t difficult

“If you want a new job, Kiwis think it is easy to do and takes a month to do it,” Tolich said.

Trade Me’s survey targeted those who had used the platform in the last year to search for jobs.

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said people were struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living increased, and while wage inflation outpaced general inflation in general last year, that was not true across the spectrum.

“If you’re on a lower wage then obviously inflation on essentials like rent and food is much more problematic than if you’re on a high income,” she said.

Zollner said there were signs the labour market was loosening, particularly in interest-rate-sensitive industries like construction, meaning finding staff may become easier.

This could suggest a transition from employees being able to demand higher wages, to having to settle for less than they would want.

Zollner said the bank’s Business Outlook Survey found firms were expecting to give lower wage increases in the next year, compared to last year.

The fact that roughly a quarter of Kiwis were open to going abroad may be partly due to the fact the borders were closed during Covid, meaning plans for OEs may have been delayed, Zollner said.

But for some industries, most notably recently for nurses, a willingness to leave New Zealand for work could result in impacts on different industries, and there would be a loss of institutional knowledge with every Kiwi who chose to leave.

At the same time, Zollner said the number of workers arriving in New Zealand had also increased.

“I’m not really confident saying with any certainty whether net migration is inflationary or disinflationary at the moment.”

“It’s also a fact that as the cost of living rises higher wages become more attractive, and Australia is a higher wage country,” she said.