The Christchurch Central Development Unit blueprint has boosted building firms' hiring confidence to record levels, a ManpowerGroup survey shows.

The recruitment company surveyed 650 Kiwi employers, with more than a quarter expecting to increase staff and 8 per cent looking at decreasing workforces in the final quarter of this year.

The net, seasonally-adjusted, employment confidence outlook was +18 per cent which is down on a year ago, according to the quarterly survey.

ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand managing director Lincoln Crawley said the upbeat employment outlook was led by a surge in construction and mining job prospects.

The July announcement of the Christchurch rebuild blueprint was driving some of that optimism, he said.

''The anticipated increase in construction work has driven the sector's net employment outlook to +39 per cent, which is up by nine percentage points from the previous quarter and is the strongest fourth-quarter outlook for the sector since the survey began in 2004.''

He expected a rise in project manager, construction and site managers, and quantity surveyors as plans were finalised and put into action.

Transportation and utilities companies were also buoyant, posting a +27 per cent net employment outlook, up nine percentage points on the previous year.

Meanwhile, finance, insurance and real estate businesses were less likely to take on staff, falling nine percentage points from a year ago to +8 per cent.

Christchurch employers were the most bullish, with an outlook of +24 per cent, with Auckland recording +18 per cent and Wellington just behind at +16 per cent.

Crawley said it was unsurprising that Christchurch has the strongest jobs outlook.

''An estimated 36,000 additional workers will be required at the height of the Christchurch rebuild, so jobseekers looking for roles in construction, engineering or trades should consider relocating and retraining where necessary to ensure they have the required skills to fill these roles.''

- © Fairfax NZ News

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