Rotorua's busy economy is "powering along nicely" as the number of jobs advertised in the Bay of Plenty rises almost 18 per cent.
Jobs Online data issued by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment measures changes in online job advertisements from a range of sites.
The August monthly report showed the number of jobs advertised in the Bay of Plenty rose 17.58 per cent from August 2017 to August 2018.
This compared to a nationwide 7.4 per cent rise in the same period.
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce acting chief executive Bryce Heard said he thought primary sectors could be leading job growth.
"The data suggests that growth in advertised jobs has taken place in the provinces but not the big cities. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and even Hamilton appear relatively static in the job vacancy model.
"By contrast, the number of advertised roles across all provinces has risen significantly.
"This suggests that the primary sectors are perhaps leading the job growth and if so, this is very good news for New Zealand as a whole."
Heard said the numbers trended against reports of falling business confidence.
"It is apparent that the Rotorua economy is powering along nicely, so we are obviously getting our share of the action. Long may it last."
Recruitment agency Personnel Resources has offices around the Bay of Plenty. Rotorua manager Angelique Scott said they were as busy as they had ever been.
"We're got a record number of temps out ... some businesses are just needing extra assistance before Christmas."
Scott said the company worked with roles across the board and there wasn't a particular industry that was booming, other than professionals as a whole.
"There are more roles out there, businesses are getting busier and a lot of people are moving to Rotorua.
"It's great to see Rotorua so busy."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce board chairman Ron Devlin said he thought the rise in jobs could be driven by the labour industry.
"There is a lot of development in Tauranga, a lot of construction. Now there's the university [of Waikato] building going up, car parking buildings, three fairly major construction sites in the CBD. That's a big part of it.
"That would suggest if there's an increase in employment it would be around the labour space."
Devlin said a rise in jobs had to be a good thing that benefited the wider Bay of Plenty.
"It's a sign of the local economy."
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's manager of labour market trends, Stuart King, said the Bay of Plenty had seen good growth.
"For the year to the June 2018 quarter, Bay of Plenty has experience solid growth in job advertisements, driven by construction, healthcare and manufacturing. In terms of occupation, the main drivers of growth are managers and professionals."
Yudu general manager Sarah Wood said the increase was a surprise but she believed it was partially driven by primary industries.
"Farmers and growers are starting to get into their busy time of the year and we are noticing seasonal jobs in horticulture starting to be advertised."
She said primary industries were facing massive skill shortages.
A number of jobs on Yudu are being advertised by Kiwi Health Jobs which advertises for district health boards.
HR general manager at Lakes District Health Board Hannes Schoeman said there had been an increase in part-time roles.
"Traditionally there has been a long standing shortage of health professionals in many areas/disciplines.
"Lakes DHB has in recent years recruited a number of staff from larger cities, especially Auckland."