Job listings take off in Masterton

Job listings in Masterton are on the rise.

Job listings are on the rise in Masterton - with trade and manufacturing leading the way.

The Trade Me Jobs employment survey for April to June shows the whole country enjoyed high job growth, encouraging people to stay here rather than pack up for Australia.

Listings in Masterton jumped 18 per cent to 174 compared with the same period last year, with the trade and manufacturing sectors driving most of the growth, the survey found.

According to the most recent Statistics NZ household labour force survey, the employment rate in the Wellington region, including Wairarapa, was 69.2 per cent in the March quarter, up from 66.4 per cent a year earlier.

The employment rate is the percentage of people employed in the working-age population.

Andy Holmes, director of Holmes Construction in Greytown, said business had been picking up steadily for two years.

The company already hired 60 staff and was looking at taking on more.

"This recession's been going on for five or six years now and people are getting over that," he said. "People have been holding back for a long time and are starting to make decisions again."

Earthquake-strengthening regulations around the country in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes had also helped fuel more construction work, he said.

Trade Me Jobs head Peter Osborne said the number of job listings nationwide was up 19 per cent on the same period last year, with growth in all regions.

"Growth in listings has been very strong, despite the potential handbrake effect of the unusual combination of Easter and Anzac Day holidays in March, and a Budget that had a cooling effect on the number of jobs advertised in May."

Most advertisers were upbeat, he said.

"We're hearing plenty of optimistic reports from recruiters and employers, and the majority are planning to keep on hiring too."

Improved domestic economic and employment opportunities also contributed to the lowest ever level of migration to Australia in May, Mr Osborne said.

Jobs in the construction sector enjoyed the biggest lift compared with last year's June quarter (up 39 per cent), followed by trades (32 per cent) and transport (29 per cent).

Demand for skilled workers was still high, with candidates in IT, engineering, construction and legal the most difficult to source.

Though all regions enjoyed job growth, Auckland still shone brightly, up 21 per cent.

Canterbury and Wellington maintained their considerable growth trajectories, up 21 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

APNZ