Jobs Online monthly report – May 2011
Jobs Online measures changes in job ads on the two main internet job boards - SEEK and Trade Me Jobs.
Job advertisements steady in May
Jobs Online shows steady growth in skilled [1] by 1.9% and all vacancies increased by 2.3% between February 2011 and May 2011 (see Figure 1). This growth is driven by strong growth in demand for skilled workers in Canterbury.
Over the past year, skilled vacancies increased by 21.7% and all vacancies increased by 20.1%. Job ads have been increasing since June 2009, when they were at their lowest point due to the recession, with skilled vacancies up by 63.6% and all vacancies up by 65.7% since that time.
Figure 1: Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) and All Vacancies Index (AVI) - Trend series (May 2007=100)
Vacancies grew in most industries and occupations
Table 1 shows that growth in the number of advertised skilled vacancies varied across industry groups between February 2011 and May 2011. The largest increases by industry were in construction and engineering (up by 10.7%) and accounting, HR, legal, and admin (up by 7.2%). There were decreases for education and training (down by 2.6%) and IT (down by 1.5%). The largest increase by occupation was for technicians and trades workers (up by 4.7%).
Compared to a year ago, the number of advertised skilled vacancies increased across most industries and all major skilled occupational groups.
| Industry | Feb 11 - May 11 | May 10 - May 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction and engineering | 10.7% | 22.2% |
| Accounting, HR, legal, and admin | 7.2% | 24.7% |
| Healthcare and medical | 2.2% | 0.7% |
| Hospitality and tourism | 2.2% | 19.3% |
| Sales, retail, marketing, and advertising | 0.9% | 9.4% |
| IT | -1.5% | 39.7% |
| Education and training | -2.6% | -7.6% |
| Other | 4.2% | 32.3% |
| Occupation | Feb 11 - May 11 | May 10 - May 11 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 4.7% | 32.9% |
| Managers | 2.2% | 21.5% |
| Professionals | 0.1% | 17.6% |
Figure 2: Detailed industry charts and data
Vacancy growth was strong in Canterbury
The growth in vacancies increased in all regions except Wellington (down by 0.4%). Table 2 shows Canterbury experienced the strongest growth with skilled vacancies up by 12.6% between February 2011 and May 2011. Compared to one year ago, skilled vacancies increased in Canterbury by 46.5%.
The strongest increase for an industry in Canterbury was in construction and engineering (up by 24.9%). This is to be expected given the reconstruction activity following the September 2010 and February 2011 earthquakes. Other industries showing an increase in Canterbury were accounting, HR, legal, and admin (up by 14.1%) and IT (up by 9.9%). The only decrease in Canterbury was in the education and training industry (down by 8.4%).
| Region | Feb 11 – May 11 | May 10 - May 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 0.1% | 25.2% |
| Wellington | -0.4% | 13.4% |
| North Island – other | 0.1% | 12.4% |
| Canterbury | 12.6% | 46.5% |
| South Island – other | 6.8% | 13.1% |
| Nationwide | 1.9% | 21.7% |
Figure 3: Detailed region charts and data
Detailed charts and data tables for the figures used in this report can be found at: Annual Percentage Change in Advertised Job Vacancies, May 2010 to May 2011.
For more on Jobs Online, see the Background and Methodology report or email the Labour Market Information and Analysis Team at research@mbie.govt.nz.
