Job numbers push past pre-Covid highs

Friday, 28 May 2021

Plans to permanently introduce an insurance payout for people who lose their job could cost as much as $5 billion a year.

“Broad-based momentum” across the labour market has pushed the number of filled jobs beyond pre-Covid levels, Stats NZ says.

In actual terms, there were about 2.24 million jobs in April this year, more than 2.5 per cent more than in April last year.

Filled jobs numbers peaked at 2.21 million last February before falling 2.1 per cent over March and April 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdown.

“It wasn’t until March 2021 that job numbers returned to the February 2020 high,” said business insights manager Sue Chapman.

* Small businesses are recovering and growing but jobs still down on pre-Covid numbers

* Covid-19: The six-figure jobs construction, IT sectors are struggling to fill

The number of filled jobs fell 2.1 per cent during March and April last year.

“It appears that filled jobs have returned to a more regular and upward trend in the last few months, following an eventful 2020 year.”

The biggest drivers of the increase in jobs were healthcare and social assistance, which added 6.5 per cent, or 15,474 jobs, construction which added 7.1 per cent or 12,568, public administration and safety up 5,8 per cent, and professional, scientific and technical services up 4.4 per cent.

Industries that had fewer filled jobs compared with April 2020 included transport, postal, and warehousing, down 4.9 per cent, or 4464 jobs. That reflects the impact of fewer airline staff.

Administrative and support services were also down 2.3 percent or 2451 jobs.

“This industry includes recruitment firms that may have been affected by fewer migrant workers, and travel agencies that have been hampered by a reduction in overseas travel,” Chapman said.

The amount of gross earnings paid to employees in April 2021 was $11.9 billion. This compares with $11.1b paid in April 2020. Last year’s gross earnings include the wage subsidy scheme.

Michael Gordon, acting chief economist at Westpac, said employment had held up better than expected over summer, when the absence of tourists was expected to be felt most keenly.

“The growth in employment does not suggest that firms are having increased difficulty in filling vacancies in recent months.”

Brad Olsen, a senior economist at Infometrics, said there was “broad-based momentum” in the jobs market. “There’s marked improvement even in those industries doing it tough.”

Accommodation and food services, which has been affected by closed borders, had 513 fewer jobs in April compared to April 2020. In March, there were 6065 fewer jobs compared to March 2020.