Frustration at lack of a job

Hikurangi jobseeker Michelle Jackson has been unable to find work for several years. Photo / John Stone

Michelle Jackson is getting frustrated after being unable to find a full-time job since 2008. She has been diagnosed with depression as one of 6500 Northlanders registered as unemployed.

The 22-year-old Whangarei woman hopes an employer will take her on now that school has started and a lot of part-time jobs are likely to be available.

Data released by Statistics New Zealand showed Northland's unemployment rate in the December quarter stood at 8 per cent, the second highest in the country behind Manawatu/Wanganui on 9 per cent. In Northland, 6500 were unemployed and 74,100 employed in the past quarter.

Ms Jackson did odd jobs for a youth group for six months after leaving school, and completed a food safety handling certificate from the Regent Training Centre in 2008. She has also worked as a live-in nanny until August last year. She now lives with friends in Hikurangi.

"I don't think there are enough jobs for me, and others I know are in the same boat as mine. Not having a job makes everything so much worse and it's quite stressful because there's no income to do what you want to do," said the sickness beneficiary.

Ms Jackson has applied for jobs in the hospitality sector and has also been to recruitment agencies without any success.

"I have to pay so many bills like everyone else, like rent, food and warrant and registration for my car but no income and it got to a point where I don't want to be around anymore."

She would continue her job hunt until July before starting a part-time course in mental health addiction at NorthTec.

A Northland recruitment expert said it was still hard to find people to fill roles.

"The employment rate is improving. It wasn't great a few years ago but lately, we can't seem to get enough people for the jobs to be honest," Allied Work Force Northland branch manager Adrian Green said.

"The people are there but they are not employable due to skills, transport, drugs tests and that kind of thing."

Mr Green said there was a reasonably high employment rate in Northland.

"We have to apply on Trade Me for people to look for the jobs and I don't get that many people applying. So most people are either employed or they are moving to other parts of the country for work.

"The people who are applying are the people who are looking for a change within Northland or they are moving up from Auckland to live in Northland."

Mr Green said lifestyle changes were the main drawcard for people choosing to move to Northland.

Nationally, the unemployment rate rose to 5.7 per cent in the three months to December.

Meanwhile, the employment rate was at 65.7 per cent - up 1 per cent on the same quarter in 2013.

In the December 2014 quarter, 143,000 people were out of a job in New Zealand and 2,375,000 were employed.

The number of unemployed men rose by 5000 to 66,000 and the number of unemployed women rose by 3000 to 77,000 in the quarter.

Labour market and households statistics manager Diane Ramsay said there was a discrepancy in the number of people wanting jobs and the number of jobs available.

"Employment didn't keep up with the record number of people entering the labour force, so even though employment growth was also strong over the quarter, the unemployment rate increased."