Campaign to get 500 youth employed in 50 days

There are online courses and an online service to match job seekers with employers. Photo / 123RF

Some big brand employers have got behind a campaign to get 500 young people into jobs in 50 days.

Joy Business Academy, which launched in August, has already matched 270 youths with businesses, 10 days into the campaign.

Organiser James Coddington said the jobs include cadetships with corporate companies through to sales reps, customer service, IT and technology roles.

He says they're in a wide and varied group of industries.

The academy, which has partnered with the Auckland Council and the employment support agency Youth Connections, offers online courses and an online service to match job seekers with employers.

It wants 5000 people to complete its courses by March next year, and put 1000 people into jobs.

New Zealand's unemployment rate fell below 5 per cent for the first time since December 2008 in the last three months, according to new figures from Statistics New Zealand.

Employers took on more staff than expected, although that didn't spur wages to rise at a faster pace.

Employment grew 1.4 per cent in the quarter, outpacing a 0.5 per cent gain economists were picking, with rental, hiring and real estate services adding 5,000 jobs in the period.

"This strong growth in employment, coupled with fewer unemployed people, pushed the unemployment rate below 5 per cent for the first time in nearly eight years," labour and income statistics manager Mark Gordon said in a statement.