New Zealand’s Jobs Index has plummeted 17.0% in the past three months as the country continues to struggle with economic volatility and dwindling business confidence. Aotearoa’s Peak Body for Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing (RCSA) has released its latest Jobs Report, with the data revealing a staggering 42.3% decline in job postings in the past year.
“It’s been exceptionally tough for businesses since the end of Covid, says RCSA New Zealand Chair, Jon Ives.
“People are hurting, discretionary spending has dropped, belts are being tightened, particularly in the public sector, and the flow on effect has been brutal.”
RCSA’s Jobs Report found an unprecedented fall in demand for non-professional workers. Each occupation type measured saw major dips in the past three months.
Ads for Service and Community Workers dropped a gargantuan 30.7%.
The demand for Labourers, Drivers and Operators decreased by 25.7%.
Job Postings for Clerical and Administrative Workers fell 18.9%
Positions for Sale Workers slumped 8.2%
“The reality is that employers are pulling back from adding new staff wherever it can be avoided. There is too much uncertainty swirling within New Zealand and also internationally, and certainty has always been the key to better times ahead.
“It’s highly probable that we will see unemployment rise in the months ahead as was scripted from the RBNZ and hopefully inflation continues to fall away. Job vacancies are a good indicator when it comes to employment, and currently job security will be exceptionally high on employees’ radars as we move through this period” says Jon.
Unsurprisingly, demand for all types of work declined in the first quarter of 2024. Flexible postings fell 19.6% while permanent roles dipped 16.4%. The more significant fall in flexible ads indicates employers are trending towards locking talent in as New Zealand continues to battle skills shortages.
“We actually saw declines that exceeded 20% in five sectors, and this included Health Care.”
“Public Administration has been one of the worst areas hit. Vacancies have now fallen in four consecutive quarters bringing the cumulative decline to 66.7%. It’s not surprising with severe hiring cutbacks in the public sector. We have also seen some major government projects sidelined and the belt tightening has and will continue to have an impact nationally.”
The only professions where demand grew over the last three months were in Mining, Construction and Utilities, Financial and Insurance Services and a little surprisingly in the Technology Professionals sector where job ads increased 4.4% – although this is off the back of a shocking 60.5% decline.
“Job ads have dropped across all regions. It seems nowhere is immune, but kiwis are strong and generally optimistic, and we will ride out this cycle as we have done in the past and will do again – particularly with a more favourable outlook indicated for late 2024.”
The Jobs Report can be viewed in full at the below link
https://www.thejobsreport.co.nz/report/new-zealand-the-jobs-report-january-march-2024/
