Employment confidence levels remain low

While some regions are more hopeful, overall employment confidence across New Zealand remains subdued. Photo / Unsplash

By RNZ

Employment confidence remains near the lows seen during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

The Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index rose by 0.5 points to 88.8 in the June quarter, and was little changed over the past year.

An index number over 100 indicates optimists outnumbered pessimists.

“A perceived lack of job opportunities remains the key concern for New Zealand households,” Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said.

However, he said the results were encouraging because they suggested the rise in the unemployment rate over the past couple of years may be peaking.

“That said, people were more pessimistic this quarter about an improvement in job prospects in the year ahead.”

The survey results were mixed across regions.

Southland saw the biggest improvement for the quarter and was the most confident region.

However, other dairying-intensive regions, such as Waikato and Taranaki, fared poorly.

Among the main centres, Auckland saw a solid lift in confidence, but Wellington and Christchurch were down slightly.

McDermott Miller research director Imogen Rendall said private sector employees were less confident than those in the public sector.

“Confidence among employees working in the private sector has further eroded this quarter with a drop of 2.9 points down to 85.0, while public sector employees’ confidence has increased 7 points up to 96.2,” she said.

-RNZ