New job ads up in April

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The number of new jobs advertised on the Seek website rose 8.5 per cent in April, to be 29 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Seek New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said new job numbers had risen for the past five months, suggesting sustained improvement and stabilisation.

Last month's growth was spread across the country, with Christchurch posting a 9 per cent increase reflecting the beginning of post-quake reconstruction activity, while Auckland grew by 8 per cent and Wellington by 7 per cent.

While the number of applications for jobs advertised on Seek had also been rising in recent months, the rise in applications was lower than the growth in jobs.

As a result the Seek employment index - the ratio of new job ads on the Seek website to the number of applications for those jobs - rose 2.7 per cent in April.

Figures published last week by Statistics New Zealand showed a 1.4 per cent seasonally adjusted rise in employment in the March quarter, while the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 of a per centage point to 6.6 per cent.

- NZPA