Job listings up 30.7% in the Bay of Plenty

Job opportunities are up 30.7 per cent in the Bay of Plenty, with big increases seen in farming, retail and education.

The increase was shown on the latest Seek job statistics report for the July to September quarter, compared to the same period last year.

The biggest growth in individual sectors was in advertising, arts and media, and insurance and superannuation, although these sectors had small job ad volumes.

Farming, animals and conservation was the major sector that saw the biggest rise of job listings, increasing 66 per cent.

Jobs in retail and consumer products followed with a 61 per cent rise and education and training rose 59 per cent.

Trades and services had the highest volume of job ads overall.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Stan Gregec said the Bay had seen strong employment growth in key sectors, so he was not surprised by the latest figures.

"Things are still pretty buoyant in the Bay and most businesses are working flat out to meet demand."

However, Mr Gregec said to expect a slowdown in growth.

"The job stats do not always give the full picture. We see many people at the Chamber who have arrived in Tauranga with good experience and credentials, who cannot immediately find a neat fit in the job market."

"If you're a tradie, IT or health professional, you'll probably be snapped up. If you have more general skills and experience, or are highly qualified in a specialised area, you might struggle to find that ideal fit, and you may even need to explore other options like starting a new business or self-employment."

Priority One projects manager Annie Hill said the high job growth reflected strong confidence in the business community, as companies expanded and created new jobs.

"The important thing is that this job growth is across most industry sectors and also in higher-value jobs in high-value industries, rather than previously when population growth drove economic growth.

"We don't envisage this growth to be slowing down in the short- to medium-term."

Talent ID director Kellie Hamlett said the company had noticed a big increase in job listings, especially in the past three months in trade-related roles.

"But this year in particular we've seen a high number of growth in accounting and admin support roles."

Kinetic senior consultant Cherie Hill said there had been a general increase in the job market across the board.

"The temp and contract spaces are the business, I also see that indication though our clients are looking to conservatively manage the risk of putting someone in the position, to test the waters, but I'm seeing a lot of those turn into permanent jobs."

Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless said the growth in the education and training job sector was positive for the region.

"Hopefully that would push wages up, and mean people can spend more, filtering through to the community."

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Garry Webber said the job increase could be due to the "very buoyant" economy, working in favour of those looking for employment.

Jobs looking good in the Bay

Canadian worker Avi Yayon never planned to make the Bay his home, but changed his mind after he discovered the beaches and the friendly lifestyle of Mount Maunganui.

He is now looking for work so he can stay.

"I've been looking for a couple of weeks. One job agency had jobs available on the same day."

He was optimistic about his chances of finding work, with many of his friends securing jobs in just a few days.

His ideal job was "anything customer-service based", but said he would settle for any seasonal work.

Blake Prujean, 18, returned to Tauranga from Australia to be with his grandparents, and is on the lookout for a job.

The Greerton local put an ad in the Bay of Plenty Times as the part-time worker was on the hunt for a full-time job.

The next day he had about six people call him with jobs ranging from concreting, plastering and mechanics.

"There is a lot of jobs out there," he said.