Job ads, applications fall

After steady new job ad growth over the past few months, new data showed some signs of the national job market levelling with both job applications and job ads down by 3.8 percent.

General manager of SEEK New Zealand Annemarie Duff said overall the trend was still job growth.

"What we are now seeing is supply and demand beginning to even out, and it's important to note that, while there's a slight decrease in jobs this month, the demand for those jobs in the form of applications has also fallen, and we still have 33 percent more jobs on SEEK compared to a year ago."

Christchurch was the only city to have seen August growth in the number of job ads posted with a rise of 2.9 percent, and a rise of 12.1 percent since August 2009.

The earthquake was expected to change that trend dramatically.

"These are uncertain times as businesses assess damage and carry out repairs. One positive in all this is the opportunity to build new and better workplaces, and we do expect to see some employment growth out of that - for starters there will be a real need for skilled tradespeople in that region," Ms Duff said.

"The general feeling from specialist trade recruiters is that there is spare capacity in the building industry and the repair work will keep many companies busy. Major civil and construction projects will start which will help keep Canterbury tradespeople in employment."

Julie Cressy, Madison Recruitment manager for the Christchurch region, said it's too soon to tell what the total job market prognosis will be;

"At this stage we are unsure of the long term implications, and there won't be a clear picture until the aftershocks stop and the full extent of the damage can be seen."

- NZPA