SEEK reports boost in Wellington jobs

SEEK Employment Report uncovers job and salary trends across the country

14 NOVEMBER, 2018, NEW ZEALAND: SEEK has released its latest Employment Report for New Zealand, showcasing trends in job ad growth and advertised salaries. The data from the report highlights that the capital city, Wellington, is leading the way with job opportunities.

Nationally, job ads have risen by 8.7%, but Wellington has seen one of the biggest surges with a huge 9.7% increase in the city alone. Advertised salaries have also spiked by 2.8% compared to the 1.8% national average since October 2017.

Janet Faulding, General Manager for SEEK New Zealand, comments: "Our team has been extremely busy speaking to Wellington based recruiters over the last few months. They are on the hunt for talent, especially in government and accounting industries.

"Our relatively small capital is really holding the flag for job growth in New Zealand as a whole."

INDUSTRY FOCUS

In the capital, Government and Defence job advertisements soared by 45% (compared to 29% nationally), followed by 34% in Accounting (7% nationally) and 26% in Legal (19% nationally) since the same period last year.

The top three industries with the highest volume of job ad growth for New Zealand included ICT, Trades & Services and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, all with over 10% growth making up 29% of job advertisements in the last three months.

Ben Pearson, General Manager for Beyond Recruitment in Wellington, comments: "The lift of the public sector headcount cap earlier this year has released a latent demand for a range of skill types, and there is increased hiring occurring as a result.

"Our business has had a noticeably busier first half of the year due to the increased demand. Daily we see upward salary negotiation which is generally successful, so it's not surprising to see this playing out as a trend in the SEEK Employment Report."

SALARY TRENDS REVEALED

Wellington advertised salaries have also risen by  2.8%  compared to Auckland and Canterbury which saw respective 2.1% and 0.8% spikes.

The highest salary growth in the capital was in Mining, Resources & Energy, with pay increasing by 17.8% since this time last year and the average wage sitting at $111,838.

Salaries in Construction and Banking & Financial Services also increased by 14.5% and 10.4% respectively over the past year, with average earnings totalling over $100k in both industries.

Craig Ebert, Senior Economist at BNZ said: "The strong annual growth in SEEK's Wellington results looks to be more than just a rebound from disproportionate caution this time last year, when election uncertainty reigned in the capital.

"Of course, there is a common perception that centre-left governments, as we now have, tend to boost the size of the bureaucracy and civil service, which is strongly represented in Wellington. However, the strength in the SEEK data appears to be spread well beyond these particular areas."

Notes to editor

Disclaimer

When reporting SEEK data, you must attribute SEEK as the source.

The Data should be viewed and regarded as standalone information and should not be aggregated with any other information whether such information has been previously provided by SEEK Limited, ("SEEK"). The Data is given in summary form and whilst care has been taken in its preparation, SEEK makes no representations whatsoever about its completeness or accuracy. SEEK expressly bears no responsibility or liability for any reliance placed by you on the Data, or from the use of the Data by you. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately.

About SEEK NZ

SEEK's purpose is to help people live more fulfilling and productive working lives and help organisations succeed. SEEK makes a positive contribution to people's lives on a global scale.

SEEK is the global leader in the creation and operation of online employment markets. Globally, SEEK has relationships with over 800,000 hirers and 180 million candidates.

SEEK makes a positive contribution to people's lives through connecting more people to relevant job opportunities using its marketplace scale and technology to build radically more efficient and effective employment marketplaces.

SEEK has been recognised by AON Hewitt as an Employer of Choice ten years straight and is passionate about its company's culture. SEEK is a leader in workplace diversity and inclusion.

SEEK is an integral part of New Zealanders job-search process, and as the country's leading employment marketplace is uniquely positioned to empower New Zealanders with career and volunteer opportunities to create productive and fulfilling working lives.

About the SEEK NZ Employment Report

The SEEK Employment Report provides a comprehensive overview of the NZ Employment Marketplace. The report includes the SEEK New Job Ad Index, which measures only new job ads posted within the reported month to provide a clean measure of demand for labour across all classifications.

SEEK's total job ad volume (not disclosed in this report) includes duplicated job advertisements and refreshed job ads. As a result, the SEEK New Job Ad Index does not always match the movement in SEEK's total job ad volume.