Glimmer of jobs hope on horizon

Fairfax

JOB SATISFACTION: Experts say there are glimmers of hope and the worst jobs cuts could be behind New Zealand.

Relevant offers

It's been a tough few months for workers now that unemployment has hit nearly 140,000.

But although the recession is expected to cost more workers their jobs, experts say there are glimmers of hope and the worst cuts could be behind us.

Just how hard the job market has been hit this year is reflected in figures released today by TradeMe Jobs - one of the country's biggest online vacancy sites with 568,000 visits from Kiwi jobseekers last month.

Fulltime job listings on the site have dropped more than 30 percent in first six months of this year compared to the second half of 2008, and competition for listed jobs is intensifying.

TradeMe Jobs head Jimmy McGee said jobseeker activity had been "huge" and applications per vacancy were nearly double what they were last year - an increase of 95 percent. In around a dozen sectors, including hospitality, jobs advertised on TradeMe were attracting 50 or more applications.

"If you're in hospitality or service then you're going to be facing some stiff opposition."

The figures - based on the 48,000 jobs listed on TradeMe Jobs this year - revealed that construction, manufacturing, administration and sales support jobs were also taking a hit. However, there were more vacancies for doctors, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, and in the tertiary and preschool education sectors.

If you're watching your pay packet, the best place to land a job is Grey District on the South Island's West Coast where salaries, boosted by energy sector jobs, averaged nearly $81,500, followed closely by Auckland ($73,344) and Wellington ($72,331).

The worst region was Porirua, where the average income was $45,302, followed by Hurunui and Waimakariri in Canterbury ($45,647) and regional Manawatu ($46,040).

Doctors lead the charge as the best-paid profession, earning more than $132,000, while at the other end of the scale, kitchen and waiting staff were the worst-paid, earning just over $30,500.

But it wasn't all bad news. McGee said wages had increased for the majority of jobs at a rate above inflation, which was sitting at 1.9 percent for the year to June. Part- time job listings were on the rise, up from 12 percent of all listings last year to 15 percent this year. And there was a greater demand for highly skilled workers - listings in the $100,000-plus salary range climbed from 12 percent to 17 percent.

Another glimmer of hope was last month's boost in vacancy listings. "The number of jobs listed has increased since the start of July - so I think that's a positive sign."

But the road to recovery will be tough. Treasury is predicting that unemployment will climb from its current level of 6 percent to 7.5 percent (172,000 people) by next year.

ASB Bank chief economist Nick Tuffley said some of this rise would be driven by an increase in the working population, rather than outright job losses.

He was quick to point out that our unemployment figures were still looking reasonable, and at 6 percent we were in keeping with levels during the 1990s.

"It's quite interesting how resilient our employment figures have been. I'm hopeful the bulk of the job losses are behind us."

But it would still be a challenging environment and workers would have to sell themselves.

Julie Cressey, a Madison Recruitment national manager, said that to stand out applicants had to take the time to tailor their resume and cover letter for each job they applied for.

She recommended researching the company thoroughly using the internet, news sources or asking around.

Hays Specialist Recruitment managing director Jason Walker said the number of vacancies was stabilising rather than going down. There was strong demand for legal workers and for jobs in the power industry. He was also noticing pockets of recovery around the country.

"There is an undercurrent of optimism that is starting to filter through."

* For average salaries check out the salary guide on TradeMe's job section

- © Fairfax NZ News