Jobs Online monthly report – June 2010
Overview
Jobs Online measures changes in job vacancies advertised on the main internet job boards.
Jobs Online shows that job advertisements have increased over the three months to the end of June 2010. The increase in job vacancies — in conjunction with other labour market data — indicates that employment prospects in the economy continue to improve and that the labour market is strengthening.
Key points
Jobs Online shows that in the three months to the end of June 2010:
- The number of advertised skilled jobs increased by 10.0%. Total advertisements increased by 9.4%.
- Advertised skilled jobs increased across all industries, regions and occupational groups.
- Advertised skilled job growth was the strongest in the following regions:
- Auckland vacancies (up 10.0%).
- North Island vacancies outside Auckland and Wellington (up 10.1%).
- Advertised skilled job growth was the strongest in the following industries:
- Construction and engineering (up 14.9%).
- Sales, retail, marketing and advertising (up 10.5%).
- IT vacancies (up 10.4%).
- Advertised skilled jobs increased by 8.3% in the health and medical industry, the last industry to show a recovery in advertised vacancies.
Vacancies have increased consistently from a year ago (June 2009), when they were at their lowest point due to the recession. Since then, the number of advertised vacancies for skilled jobs increased by 33.6% while total vacancies increased by 36.9%.
Alongside positive employment growth, falling unemployment, and strong hiring intentions, Jobs Online shows that employment prospects in the economy are improving. Despite the improvement, the number of skilled job advertisements in June 2010 remains 30.6% lower than in March 2008, when the index was at its peak.
Commentary
Job advertisements increase further...
Jobs Online shows that the number of job advertisements grew strongly over the three months to the end of June 2010. Job advertisements increased consistently since June 2009, when they were at their lowest point.
Total vacancies increased by 9.4% in the three months to the end of June 2010 and by 36.9% since June 2009. Skilled vacancies[1] increased by 10.0% in the three months to the end of June 2010 and by 33.6% since June 2009.
These trends are shown in Figure 1 below.
Figure 1: Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) and All Vacancies Index (AVI).
…indicating that job prospects in the economy continue to improve.
Jobs Online, in conjunction with above average employment intentions[2], shows that employment prospects in the economy have improved. This is echoed in the results from the latest Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) which showed the number of people in employment rose by 1.0% (or 22,000 people) over the March 2010 quarter.
While employment prospects continue to improve, we believe that the unemployment rate will remain elevated over coming quarters and may rise from its current rate of 6.0%, especially if the Labour Force Participation Rate increases[3].
Skilled job advertisements have increased in all regions…
Skilled vacancies increased by between 19% and 41% for all regions in the year to the end of June 2010.
Table 1 shows that growth was the strongest in Auckland (up 10.0%) and in the rest of the North Island excluding Wellington (up 10.1%). Vacancies rose by 9.1% in the South Island (excluding Christchurch), by 8.7% in Wellington, and by 3.0% in Christchurch.
| Region | Mar. 10 – Jun. 10 | Jun. 09 – Jun. 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | 10.0% | 40.8% |
| Wellington | 8.7% | 39.2% |
| North Island – other | 10.1% | 35.4% |
| Christchurch | 3.0% | 14.8% |
| South Island – other | 9.1% | 19.1% |
| Nationwide | 10.0% | 33.6% |
Figure 2 below shows the long-term trends for Jobs Online by region.
Figure 2: Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) by region
…and increased across all industries…
As shown in Table 2, the number of advertised skilled vacancies increased across all industries. The biggest increases in the three months to the end of June 2010 were in construction and engineering (up 14.9%); sales, retail, marketing & advertising (up 10.5%); and IT (up 10.4%).
Advertised skilled jobs increased by 8.3% in the health and medical industry, the last industry to show a recovery in advertised vacancies.
| Industry group | Mar. 10 – Jun. 10 | Jun. 09 – Jun. 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Construction and engineering | 14.9% | 28.0% |
| Sales, retail, marketing, advertising | 10.5% | 64.8% |
| IT | 10.4% | 47.7% |
| Hospitality | 9.1% | 51.5% |
| Health and medical | 8.3% | 2.7% |
| Education | 7.2% | 6.7% |
| Accounting, HR, legal, administration | 4.0% | 17.1% |
| Other | 9.4% | 43.0% |
Figure 3 below shows the long term vacancy trends for industry groups.
Figure 3: Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) by industry group
…with vacancies increasing across all skilled occupational groups
Advertised skilled vacancy growth was strong across all the major skilled occupational groups, as shown in Table 3 below. Job advertisements for technicians and trades workers showed the strongest growth over the quarter (up 13.0%), closely followed by professionals (up 10.6%). Annual growth was the strongest since the beginning of the series for all three occupational groups.
| Occupational group | Mar. 10 – Jun. 10 | Jun. 09 – Jun. 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 6.9% | 39.1% |
| Professionals | 10.6% | 31.2% |
| Technicians and trades workers | 13.0% | 52.9% |
| All skilled occupations | 10.0% | 33.6% |
Table 4 below takes a more detailed look at occupational groups, and shows that vacancies for almost all of the groups have exceeded their June 2009 levels. The percentages in Table 4 represent the change in the average number of job advertisements in the three months to 30 June 2010 from the average number in the three months to 30 June 2009.
| Occupational Group | Sub group[4] | Jun. 09 – Jun. 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | Chief executives, general managers and legislators | 1% |
| Specialist managers | 37% | |
| Hospitality, retail and service managers | 23% | |
| Professionals | Arts and media professionals | 5% |
| Business, human resource and marketing professionals | 21% | |
| Design, engineering, science and transport professionals | 16% | |
| Education professionals | 1% | |
| Health professionals | -8% | |
| ICT professionals | 29% | |
| Legal, social and welfare professionals | 15% | |
| Technicians and trades workers | Engineering, ICT and science technicians | 21% |
| Automotive and engineering trades workers | 36% | |
| Construction trades workers | 89% | |
| Electro-technology and telecommunications trades workers | 20% | |
| Food trades workers | 41% | |
| Skilled animal and horticultural workers | 12% | |
| Other technicians and trades workers | 36% | |
| Community and personal service workers |
Health and welfare support workers | -11% |
| Sports and personal service workers | 35% | |
| Clerical and administrative workers | Office managers and program administrators | 55% |
| Personal assistants and secretaries | 2% | |
| Inquiry clerks and receptionists | 53% | |
| Other clerical and administrative workers | -11% | |
Sales workers |
Sales representatives and agents | 17% |
Note: this is not a trend series, and differs from annual comparisons for the Skilled Vacancy Index. It is not yet possible to create a seasonally adjusted series for this table, as some of these occupational groups are small and the series has been running for such a short time.
Methodology
Jobs Online includes two separate indices: the All Vacancy Index (AVI) tracks all job vacancies listed, and the Skilled Vacancies Index (SVI) looks closer at skilled occupations[5]. The Skilled Vacancies Index is broken down further by detailed occupation, location and industry type. The results are presented as an index that measures changes in the number of job advertisements.
Vacancies are highly seasonal: for instance, there is usually a substantial fall in the numbers of jobs advertised during December and then a small increase in February. To remove such seasonality, the Jobs Online data reported here has been converted to a trend series[6], allowing us to compare figures between months.
Jobs Online replaces the previous Job Vacancy Monitoring Programme, which gathered data on job advertisements placed in newspapers. Jobs Online allows us to access a considerably larger number of advertisements in a timelier manner, and better reflects the dominance of online advertising in the recruitment sector, particularly in terms of advertised vacancies for skilled labour.
For more on Jobs Online, see the Background and Methodology report at http://www.dol.govt.nz/publications/jol/methodology or email the Labour Market Skills Team at info@dol.govt.nz.
Available at http://dol.govt.nz/publications/lmr/lmr-labour-market-update.asp