This time last year there were 252 jobs advertised on Trade Me
This time last year there were 252 jobs advertised on Trade Me
Working out how Hawke's Bay is doing as a region is an inexact science.
The only accurate figures on the number of jobs are year-old ones from Inland Revenue.
Unemployment figures are disguised by the many who choose study instead of the dole or have a working spouse.
In theGisborne/Hawke's Bay area unemployment jumped from 7.6 per cent to 8.5 per cent in the past quarter according to Statistics New Zealand's Household Labour Force Survey.
The survey is a small sample of a low-population region. It changes the people it surveys regularly so it is a very rough guide.
Nationwide Statistics New Zealand recorded a 1.2 per cent increase in the number of people employed, lowering the national unemployment rate to 6.2 per cent.
The general consensus is economically we have turned the corner in Hawke's Bay but there are businesses continuing to lose traction.
This time last year there were 252 jobs advertised on Trade Me. On Monday there were 242, so the economy is not accelerating.
Log prices have increased - good news for one of our biggest employers Pan Pac.
The Japan-owned company is a good example of foreign investment adding value to our resources.
Unfortunately its subsidiary Pacific Wood Products (PWP) closed at the beginning of last year with the loss of 41 jobs.
PWP added the greatest value to Hawke's Bay trees by making building products such as weatherboards and door jambs.
Most were exported to Australia where they faced stiff price competition from Chile.
Lack of scale is a problem in Hawke's Bay, indeed the whole of the country when we try to sell traditional products on the world markets.
The only clear commodity success has been Fonterra which has the necessary economy of scale due to the consolidation of dairy farms into the co-operative.
Thankfully there are bankers with calculators who are backing our property-investment visionaries.
