Green shoots in Wairarapa job market

Boss Group recruiting firm owner Leanne Welsh said the Wairarapa job market was starting to pick up.

The Wairarapa job market is showing "signs of growth" amid renewed signs of economic resurgence across the nation.

Boss Group recruiting firm owner Leanne Welsh, who works between Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay, said the Wairarapa job market was starting to pick up - particularly for companies producing goods sold outside the region.

Job website Seek recorded a 7 per cent increase in Wellington region job listings last month to 3720, up from 3477 a year ago.

The number of people applying for jobs also grew, up 3 per cent, as job-seekers grew more confident.

The buoyant figures follows Statistics NZ data last month showing unemployment had remained stable across the region at 6 per cent although the number of people with jobs fell to 273,100 in the three months to December.

Nationwide, Seek saw a 10 per cent increase in job listings in February, with 22,000 new ads posted during the month - its strongest figures in the past three years.

In the same period last year, 20,000 new jobs were listed.

Job applications were also up by 6 per cent.

Mrs Welsh said one issue for Wairarapa was that much of its high-level "pool of talent" caught the train to Wellington each day for work.

"While it costs you a couple of hundred bucks a month to get there ... you're more than earning an extra couple of hundred bucks a month in your salary."

Although some employees would "toy with the idea" of working closer to home in Wairarapa, they struggled to find a position matching their needs in the low-wage economy.

"They've got golden handcuffs into the Wellington region."

Seek New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said the February numbers were evidence of a robust job market, both in the main centres and the regions.

"The employment market is showing signs of recovery across New Zealand, driven by the main metropolitan areas of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch with regional New Zealand continuing to contribute to the overall picture.

"It's encouraging to see the regions benefiting from increased activity in the employment market and this confirms there are opportunities outside of the main cities in New Zealand," Ms Faulding said.

Half the roles listed last month were in Auckland and job listings in the city showed a 10 per cent growth compared to February 2013.

Wellington and Canterbury both recorded 7 per cent growth, while the number of jobs advertised in Marlborough was up 22 per cent, Waikato 19 per cent, and Otago 18 per cent.

Ms Faulding said the increase in job applications by prospective workers was not surprising with the continuing trend of sustained growth in the job market.

Meanwhile, Statistics NZ figures show the national unemployment rate dropped to 6 per cent for the December 2013 quarter. APNZ