Big retailers boost job numbers

The arrival of major international fashion retailers has helped boost job listings in September.

Job advertisements on job search website Seek rose 6.5 per cent in September compared the same month last year with the hospitality and tourism and retail industries experiencing the greatest uplift.

Seek general manager Janet Faulding said September was the peak hiring month of the year for those industries.

It was a great time for job hunters to be looking for a new role in most parts of the country, she said.

Retailworld Resourcing Group chief executive Trish McLean said job advertising in hospitality and tourism and retail increased in September as employers work to get seasonal teams ready ahead of the busy Christmas period.

Demand for retail staff increased this year with both local business expansion and big international retailers such as Zara, H&M and David Jones opening their first New Zealand stores.

Zara and H&M opened at Auckland shopping mall Sylvia Park in early October.

Australian department store David Jones opened its first New Zealand store in July at the former Kirkcaldie & Stains store on Lambton Quay in Wellington.

These brands also required extra staff in the lead up to Christmas and postChristmas sales, McLean said.

The top three most advertised retail roles on Seek in September and their average advertised salaries were retail assistant ($40,223), store management ($50,165) and department assistant ($43,964).

Retail jobs in Auckland increased 11 per cent last month compared to September 2015 with 769 jobs currently listed. Seek did not provide specific numbers for the September month, just current listings.

Canterbury retail increased 9 per cent with 181 jobs while Wellington retail listings increased 44 per cent with 115 jobs listed.

Job ads across all sectors were up 7.5 per cent in Auckland and 5.6 per cent in Wellington last month compared to September 2015.

In Canterbury the labour market was subdued with ads down 5.5 per cent.