Media releases
Regional labour market updates show more people in jobs
09 february 2007
Department of Labour figures show that more people are in paid work compared to this time last year.
“Because of New Zealand’s strong labour market, in most regions we’re seeing more people becoming available for work and transitioning straight into jobs.
“We can tell that they’re going directly into jobs because employment is rising against a backdrop of stable regional unemployment.
“This information comes from the latest Department of Labour/Ministry of Social Development Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports, which provide a single point of reference for a range of region-specific information.
“The reports highlight some key changes. For example, the rise in employment is especially significant in the Bay of Plenty, which has seen an employment rate rise of 1.6 percentage points.
“Wellington’s employment rate also continues to rise, albeit alongside a rising unemployment rate. This indicates that while jobseekers are being drawn into the healthy labour market, it’s taking employers a little longer to absorb this emerging labour pool.
“Looking at unemployment, the steepest falls can be seen in Northland and Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay to 4.7% and 4.1% respectively - welcome news for regions with historically high unemployment,” she said.
The Quarterly Regional Labour Market Reports are developed by the Department of Labour and the Ministry of Social Development with information from Statistics New Zealand.
They draw on official statistics from the Department of Labour’s Job Vacancy Monitor, Ministry of Social Development beneficiary records and Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey.
They convey key labour market information on twelve regions of New Zealand. They include annual trends in labour force participation, employment, unemployment, job vacancy trends and benefit figures.
The reports are available at: www.dol.govt.nz/publications/lmr/lmr-regional.asp
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