Job market booming with surge of new listings on Trade Me

Jobs listed on Trade Me have increased 16.4 per cent on the same time last year. Photo / 123RF

The New Zealand job market is booming, with a 16.4 per cent increase in the number of jobs listed on Trade Me on the same time last year, the organisation announced today.

There were 65,000 job vacancies listed on Trade Me in the three months leading up to December 2016 while applications for each listing dropped by 14 per cent, indicating job hunters are in the box seat.

The average salary, however, was down 0.4 per cent but Trade Me predicted this would rise as demand for candidates increased.

Bay of Plenty and Waikato led the charge, with 38.9 per cent and 31.8 per cent listing increases respectively.

"The phenomenal growth in these regions has driven roles across the transport and logistics, trades and services, and construction industries, coupled with the halo effect stemming from their proximity to Auckland," said head of Trade Me Jobs Jeremy Wade.

There was also a 50.3 per cent jump in listings in Gisborne (Trade Me said this did not represent a big change in real terms given Gisborne's relatively small size), 28.7 per cent in Nelson-Tasman, and 27.2 per cent in Otago.

Canterbury had the smallest change with just a 0.9 per cent bump on last year.

"Canterbury's market continues to stabilise following the rebuild. The number of construction listings is flat year-on-year but hospitality listings have jumped 22.6 per cent," Wade said.

Auckland ended 2016 on a strong note with listings up 17.5 per cent and average salaries up 0.8 per cent.

Wade said Auckland's strength continued to stem from construction and trades, which were up 27.1 per cent and 24.6 per cent respectively.

"The housing and building boom in the Super City is translating into massive numbers of jobs and really pushing the Auckland job market forward.

"The recruiters we work with are very positive about the Auckland market for 2017, many of them are increasing their presence in the city as the job boom continues."

IT listings in Auckland were also up 27.2 per cent, led by growth in the number of programming and telecommunications roles.

Across job types, the last three months of 2016 were positive for most sectors, with all but four seeing increases. Sectors that did particularly well were property (up 54.4 per cent), science and technology (34.4 per cent) and management (53.7 per cent).

Banking had the most significant decrease in the number of listings, which fell 26.7 per cent.

IT continued to be the most lucrative career option on Trade Me Jobs, with all five of the top salary spots taken by IT roles.

Wade said the job market was showing "outstanding signs" for the year ahead.

"Kiwi employers seem pretty confident about 2017, with every region and all but four job categories across the country having more new listings than a year ago.

"We don't see this kind of consistent nationwide growth often, so it's really encouraging for the 2017 job market as well as the economy as a whole"

He said employers would need to work harder to get the best people.

"Job seekers want to know they're applying to a workplace that meets their needs in terms of development, culture and opportunity - not just pay - and they gravitate to listings that sell the organisation and the opportunity well."

The figures correspond with the Global Salary Survey, released last week by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters NZ, which found that demand for skilled professionals in New Zealand is exceeding supply as we head into a new year.

It found that 61 per cent of professionals will be looking to move jobs in the next 12 months and, with many companies seeking to expand or restructure, there will be plenty of new positions available.