Jobs advertisements have fallen 26.5 per cent in the Bay. Photo / Getty Images
Job advertisements have fallen by 26.5 per cent compared to one year ago as new figures show there are more women than men unemployed in the Bay of Plenty.
An economist says jobs are being lost and women are leaving and bearing the brunt of the burden.
But local recruiters say it is young people, both male and female, who are struggling to find work.
Ministry of Business, Employment and Innovation's Jobs Online quarterly report showed online job advertisements in the region fell 7 per cent in the three months to September and 26.5 per cent year-on-year.
The greatest falls in advertisements were in sales and business services, with vacancies for sales workers dropping the most.
Unskilled jobs showed the biggest drop and the industries that contributed the most to the change in the September quarter were construction and sales.
Meanwhile, Stats NZ this month revealed women fared worse than men across key labour market measures nationally since Covid-19 alert levels began.
Labour market manager Andrew Neal said unemployment rates for both genders rose between 1.2 and 1.3 per cent but quarterly changes only told part of the story.
"The March 2020 quarter captured New Zealand's labour market before the impact of Covid-19.
"Changes between then and the September 2020 quarter show that while both sexes have been negatively impacted, women have been worse affected."
Nationally, the seasonally adjusted number of people in employment fell by 31,000 between the March and September quarters and 22,000, or more than two-thirds were women.
As a result, the employment rate for women fell from 62.8 per cent to 61.2 per cent over the period. The rate for men fell from 72.8 per cent to 71.8 per cent.
Regional data showed there were 5700 unemployed women and 4600 unemployed men in the Bay of Plenty.
Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara said, interestingly, the number of unemployed women in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty grew by roughly the same amount at 18 per cent.
Vergara said job losses in the Bay, as a tourist destination region, was "undeniable".
"Given that our border restrictions will remain in place for some time to come, job losses among women in the region will likely continue to rise."
The difficulty in being redeployed into other areas of the economy may be a reason why women were leaving the workforce, she said.
Moving forward, Vergara said Government policies needed to focus on creating training programmes that would provide women with a way back into the labour market.
Vergara said since March, around 3400 Bay women had left the labour force.
Between March and September 2019, the rise among those not in the labour force was more moderate at 900-plus women, she said.
"Covid has clearly had an impact."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said a number of traditionally female-dominated roles were initially impacted by Covid-19.
"It is great to see a number of women in the media take on vocational training and apprenticeships to re-ignite their careers."
Cowley said any industry that relied on foreign workers was struggling to find good staff.
"The sales and construction sectors have been hardest hit. There is a strong need for more land and zoning for housing to be opened up before we lose our talented workforce to neighbouring regions."
Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bryce Heard said the ministry's data reflected increased uncertainty.
Heard said the second wave of Covid-19 threw more uncertainty into employment during the September quarter when the General Election was looming.
"Employers are quick to respond to uncertainty by placing a halt on employment."
Businesses reliant on international tourism and that were exposed to airlines, travel and event management were the most heavily impacted, while hospitality and accommodation had performed better than expected, he said.
However, he had heard no evidence of any gender bias in job losses from members.
"It is of concern that some members are still struggling to find staff ready for employment, even in this environment."
The chamber had formed a leading employers group with its members to help find answers to local unemployment issues.
Talent ID Rotorua director Kellie Hamlett said things quietened pre-election.
"We have had an incredibly difficult year. Post-Covid there was a lot of hiring going on after that first lockdown and things have settled now."
But it also indicated businesses were starting to struggle, she said.
"The employment market at the moment is incredibly tough. Not only are we seeing job advertisements decline but we are not seeing a lot of skilled candidates in business services and sales and marketing.
"We are drawing from a very small pool of candidates."
Hamlett said she was not seeing women bearing the brunt of unemployment but wondered if some were choosing not to go back to work until things settled post-Covid-19.
She believed young people were more likely to be facing challenges in employment as employers sought more experienced workers.
"Gender is not usually a factor."
Priority One chief executive Nigel Tutt said unemployment in the Western Bay region was lower than they were expecting a few months ago and what was seen nationally.
"We're seeing job ads increase in recent months which contradicts the report."
Compared to other years, Tutt said the 2020 job market "doesn't look great" but the country was faring better than previously forecast.
Tutt said he had not seen any evidence of women being disproportionally affected by unemployment.
The Staffroom Ltd director Jill Cachemaille said typically their roles attracted a large number of women and that had not changed.
Cachemaille said the main impact on employers was fewer job advertisements meant the quality of applicants was less appealing as candidates had less choice.
"[It] means they will just apply for anything and therefore the employer has to screen more candidates that are unsuitable.
"Additionally, the competition rises for candidates, with fewer jobs being advertised the pool of candidates become bigger."
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