Northland job listings on the up

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Job listings have climbed in Northland, with continued demand for skilled engineers.

Trade Me Jobs data for the July-September quarter showed Whangarei job listings were up 15 per cent on the corresponding period last year, with 627 listings. Far North listings were up 27 per cent at 223.

Trade and education were Whangarei's biggest movers, while engineering was one of the biggest drivers of growth in the Far North.

A Direction Recruitment spokeswoman in Whangarei said demand for engineering staff was high: "Everything seems to be moving forward quite significantly."

Engineering roles on the market ranged from mechanical to civil, to maintenance jobs. A lot of trades jobs were also going going further north, she said.

Nationally, the employment market enjoyed solid growth in almost every region, with listings in the three months to September up 16.4 per cent on the same quarter last year.

Construction and architecture roles on Trade Me were up 41 per cent, property up 40 per cent and agriculture up 29 per cent - marking the three strongest areas of growth nationwide.

Head of Trade Me Jobs Peter Osborne said growth in the quarter was in the double digits in most areas.

"It's been wonderful to see job ad numbers go from strength to strength for a whole year now, and most of New Zealand has benefited from the ongoing trend," Mr Osborne said.

"It's interesting to see the average number of applications has dipped, meaning that all things being equal, it would have been slightly easier for people to find work over recent months."

While this was "great news" for job hunters, the slump in applications made it tough for advertisers to find staff.

Job listings in the three main centres were "full-steam ahead", Mr Osborne said.

"We've become used to Auckland maintaining trajectory, and there's no change on that front, with job ads rising 18 per cent year-on-year. The recent top form of both Wellington, up 13 per cent, and Canterbury, up 15 per cent, hasn't abated either."

Nelson/Tasman was up 12.5 per cent, Otago 30 per cent and Southland up 32 per cent, with the biggest lift in Marlborough - a "stellar" 54 per cent. Only Gisborne and Taranaki had a fall in listings, dropping 10.7 per cent and 7.6 per cent respectively.

Mr Osborne said ongoing demand for skilled technology workers was strong but a skills shortage made vacancies difficult to fill.