The job market in the Bay of Plenty is beginning to bounce back, according to the latest job figures.
In the first six months of the year, the number of Bay of Plenty jobs advertised on the Seek employment website rose by 14 per cent.
And the number of jobs advertised in the region was 3 per cent higher in the year to June than it was for the same time last year.
Nationally, there was a 6.5 per cent increase in new jobs advertised on the site by the end of August compared to the same time last year.
General manager Janet Faulding said things were slowly looking up, with 16,000 jobs currently listed on the site.
"This past month has shown a gradual firming of the employment market in New Zealand, with more jobs advertised than applications received," she said.
Advertisements for carpenters are up 178 per cent in the past quarter, while marketing and brand manager positions have increased by 74 per cent, making them the two fastest moving jobs currently in New Zealand.
Claudia Nelson, owner of Tauranga recruitment company The Right Staff, has seen a similar trend in the jobs coming through her office.
"What we're seeing lately is that the building industry is starting to pick up, especially home builders," she said.
"For the last couple of years builders were very, very quiet. We heard nothing from them."
But the demand is not necessarily for chippies themselves," Ms Nelson said.
"It's more in the sales roles in building companies," she said. "Some of our builders are more confident in taking on admin staff."
Marketing positions have been few and far between of recent times but it may not be that way for long.
"The marketing roles generally are starting to come back up again," she said.
Managing director of 1st Call Recruitment Phill van Syp has also noticed a high demand for labourers in Tauranga.
"At the moment, definitely in labour we're getting more work, especially manufacturing and roading," he said.
With summer on the way and work on the Tauranga Eastern Link expected to ramp up soon, Mr van Syp is expecting the market to improve further.
"We're expecting a huge increase in the civil side of things.
"And Tauranga's a summer city, so it usually picks up.
"It's definitely looking positive."
