Unemployment drops: Bay job market heats up

The Western Bay employment market is heating up this summer, giving job hunters more choices and fuelling optimism for work agencies in the region.
Mike Bryant, the Ministry of Social Development's regional commissioner, said there had been a recent boost in job vacancies in the Bay of Plenty, as well as a drop-off in the number of people on an unemployment benefit.
"While we have come through a difficult economic time, the job market is picking up and we are beginning to see an increase in vacancies being listed with us."
This morning, there were 135 jobs listed online with Trade Me, 194 with seek.co.nz, five on nzherald.co.nz and 11 with student service Student Job Search.
New unemployment benefit numbers requested by the Bay of Plenty Times showed that as at the end of last month, 1307 Western Bay people were registered as unemployed - 113 people fewer than at the end of September.
Unemployment numbers at the end of November were also slightly lower - by 184 beneficiaries - than the same time last year.
A total of 11,127 Western Bay residents were receiving some kind of benefit last month, a figure 160 more than last year and which accounted for 38 per cent of the total number of Bay of Plenty beneficiaries.
Nationally, vacancies had increased by 2.6 per cent over the last three months, according to the Ministry of Social Development's Jobs Online indicator that measured data from online job advertisers, Trade Me Jobs and Seek.
Skilled job vacancies also rose by 2.7 per cent during the three months to November.
The biggest rises were seen in hospitality and tourism, up 7.5 per cent, and information technology, up 7.3 per cent.
Online job vacancies had consistently increased since midway through last year's recession, with total vacancies up by 47 per cent and skilled vacancies by 43.6 per cent since June 2009, the report showed.
Last week, 21-year-old Bay graduate student Brieana van den Dungen told the Bay of Plenty Times how she was struggling to find employment, after searching far and wide for jobs.
Two employers have since approached the newspaper asking her to apply for jobs they have available.
Student Job Search chief executive Paul Kennedy said there were plenty of opportunities for students - they just needed to find them.
Mr Kennedy said the economy was looking more positive than last year, with the company reporting a 25 per cent increase in the number of jobs advertised on the website.
At the same time, the company had experienced a 25 per cent increase in new enrolments.
Mr Bryant cited other Government schemes available to young people, such as Community Max, which to date has provided 10 projects for 44 Western Bay of Plenty young people.
"Community Max is designed to get young people into jobs where they learn new skills and gain work experience with the aim of gaining unsubsidised employment.
"Working on projects that benefit the community is an added bonus."
Another programme, Job Ops, had so far helped 1875 Western Bay young people find work, while Work and Income's Job Search Service was also helping people get back into work as quickly as possible.
"We are finding Job Ops is providing a successful catalyst for local employers to take on young job seekers they otherwise may not be able to employ," Mr Bryant said.
"Broadening their job search and continuing to be proactive will improve opportunities for success."