Regional jobless numbers drop

HBT122801-03.jpg Engineer grinding steel at DSK Engineering, Hastings. Reporter: Kate de Lautour Photographer: Glenn Taylor NEWS BAY BUSINESS HBT 20Sep12 - HARD GRIND:

Wairarapa has recorded a fall in unemployment as more job hunters secure seasonal work, figures show.

Kiwi Recruitment Agency director Barry Gleeson said the growth in local job numbers was expected at this time of year due to "seasonal lift".

"We would expect to see this sort of positive thing up until February, March."

In the wider Wellington region, unemployment has fallen from 6.4 per cent to 6 per cent in the last quarter - down from 7.1 year-on year, according to Statistics New Zealand's Household Labour Force Survey.

A breakdown of the figures shows that in Wairarapa, unemployment fell from 9 per cent to 8 per cent in the last 12 months. However, Stats NZ warns the latter figures may be skewed due to the small sample size.

Nationwide, Statistics New Zealand recorded a 1.2 per cent increase in the number of people employed, lowering the unemployment rate to 6.2 per cent.

In Wairarapa, there had been a lift in the timber-processing industry and seasonal work had started to increase in roading and food manufacturing leading up to Christmas, Mr Gleeson said

"While the numbers might not be dramatic, it does have a positive impact in what we can offer people."

He had also seen an increase in candidates registering from outside the region, but it was still "a difficult market at times".

His clients had strict pre-employment requirements around drug-free policies or vehicle licence requirements, which made some potential candidates unsuitable such as younger candidates on learner licences who could not do shift work.

Some university students were starting to return to Wairarapa for Christmas holidays, but it was difficult to place them all in steady roles.

"We've probably had this week alone five or six university students start to apply for seasonal holiday work.

Nationally, job numbers swelled in the last quarter as construction, retail and hospitality firms hired workers.

The last time the unemployment rate was lower than 6.2 per cent was in June 2009 - before the recession had caught up with the labour market.

The average unemployment rate was just under 7 per cent through 2012.

However, Salvation Army territorial community ministries secretary major Pam Waugh said demand for food bank services had steadily grown - up 2.6 per cent to the year to September. Demand was even higher in certain pockets.

A disruptive event in a community, such as the closure of a large employer, could cause local instability and hardship, she warned.

"What we see in centres where unemployment is rising [is] people are under pressure.

"They're having to make some decisions about what [bills] get paid.

"There's also the pressure of wanting to get back into employment and that puts stress on people."

The Salvation Army had also seen a increase in new families using its welfare support services in recent months.

Many had never relied on welfare support before but were now in situations where one or both partners were facing reduced work hours.

The winter season and pockets of regional unemployment had contributed to the increased demand, said Mrs Waugh.

The organisation expected to see another spike in demand for services leading up to the Christmas season. APNZ