Job listings up, but so are job hunter figures

Taranaki job hunters are struggling to find jobs even though the number of vacancies has gone up.

Statistics released by Trade Me Jobs show there was a 15.8 per cent increase in job listings for the last three months of 2016, compared to the same period in 2015. ANZ Job Ads puts the increase at 18.9 per cent.

However, there was more competition for the jobs as the average number of applications for each position was up 16.7 per cent, the same figures show.

A spokeswoman for recruitment agency Adecco Personnel said they were seeing more applicants for every role they advertised.

‘‘Many are applying for all jobs whether they have the skills required or not.’’

The last quarter of 2016 saw an increase in the number of candidates looking for work, she said. ‘‘Always a busy period for job seekers, there was a definite increase in the number of people seeking work this year.’’

But there didn’t seem to be any specific area or industry with more roles than any other, she said.

‘‘People are finding it hard to find work across the board, in all sectors commercial or industrial.’’

According to Trade Me stats the average salary in Taranaki went down by 0.7 per cent, which is a bigger drop than the national average, which went down 0.4 per cent.

The average salary in Taranaki is $57,471, Wellington City has the highest average salary $71,245 and lowest was McKenzie in Canterbury with $47,500.

Head of Trade Me Jobs, Jeremy Wade, said the New Zealand job market was showing ‘‘outstanding signs’’ for the year ahead.

‘‘Kiwi employers seem pretty confident about 2017, with every region and all but four job categories across the country having more new listings than a year ago. We don’t see this kind of consistent nationwide growth often, so it’s really encouraging for the 2017 job market as well as the economy as a whole’’

Wage inflation in the last quarter of 2016 appeared low, but Wade expected this to rise in 2017 as demand for candidates increased, he said. Auckland ended 2016 on a very strong note with listings up 17.5 per cent on the same time last year, and average salaries up 0.8 per cent.

Every region around the country saw listings grow in the last three months of 2016, but the Bay of Plenty and Waikato continue to be ‘‘the stand-outs’’ with 38.9 per cent and 31.8 per cent listing increases respectively.