A local union organiser has slammed new research suggesting workers are feeling more optimistic about the job market.
Northland EPMU organiser Andrew Bourke said many Northland residents, who had been laid off or moved on to "casual" contracts, did not have a positive outlook on the job market.
His comments follow the release of a new survey which found workers rate better pay and employer benefits as the most important factor when choosing a job - with job security slipping down the list.
"It's flawed," Mr Bourke said of the research.
Northland has been plagued by high rates of unemployment which has not created an optimistic outlook for people, he said.
Workers with jobs were definitely concerned about job security - with low wages being another huge issue, Mr Bourke said. To say employees were feeling confident about their jobs was false, he said.
Research carried out by international recruitment agency Randstad surveyed 7000 Kiwi workers. Nearly one in five respondents rated competitive salary and employee benefits as the most important factor when choosing an employer. Long-term job security, which was found to be the number one determining factor in last year's survey, was rated second most-important by respondents.
New Zealand director of Randstad Paul Robinson said worker outlook was beginning to improve, after slumping in the past two years.
"Over the past couple of years there has been limited movement in the job market due to uncertainty, job insecurity and limited optimism, so employees chose to sit tight and work hard through tough financial times.
"As optimism increases and the market begins to open up, people will start to reconsider benefits important to them such as higher remuneration packages, the ability to be more mobile and work outside of the office, or have flexible working hours," he said.
Long-standing employees who stuck by businesses through the global financial crisis needed to feel valued by organisations, Mr Robinson said.
"[This year] may just be the time for businesses to repay the faith of Kiwi workers."
However, unemployment figures show many people are still struggling and suggest job security is still likely to be at the forefront of many workers' minds. New Zealand's unemployment rate stood at 6.9 per cent for the three months to December, according to Statistics NZ.
And of the 54,000 Kiwis on the unemployment benefit at the end of last year, 3600 were from Northland.
Mr Robinson urged employers to think "outside the box" when offering incentives to staff.