7 Apr 2014

Surge in website job listings

2:51 pm on 7 April 2014

Job listings on TradeMe have continued to grow, with Wellington and Auckland showing particular strength.

The online company said listings rose 21 percent year on year in the March quarter, after a 17 percent lift in the final quarter of last year.

Trade Me screen shot

Photo: RNZ

TradeMe head of jobs Peter Osborne said says the results reflect an increase in employer and job market confidence during the past six months.

IT remains one of the most popular professions, with journalism and retail manager roles also experiencing a significant jump in job listings.

Science and technology listings were less popular, but Mr Osborne said that reflects the size of the sector.

Auckland continues to dominate the jobs market with a 20 percent boost in job listings compared to the same period last year.

But both the Wellington and Canterbury regions have also performed strongly, with Canterbury reporting a 24 percent increase in job listings on the same time last year.

Demand for construction jobs around Christchurch continues to grow, as does demand for supporting industires such as transport, trades and services.

"What's also good news in Christchurch is that the infrastructure roles - those white collar professional roles - are beginning to return to the community."

Job listings in Wellington rose by more than a quarter on a year ago, despite a 18.9 percent drop in Government and council job listings.

Mr Osborne said the main reason people gave for looking for a new job was better pay.