Jobs surge thanks to building boom

New Building work on Victoria Ave. Photo/Stuart Munro

Job listings in Wanganui are up more than 25 per cent, with growth in the building sector, agriculture, healthcare and transport leading the way.

The TradeMe employment survey for the past three months saw Wanganui vacancies jump 27 per cent to 223, compared with the same period last year. The survey said the trades and healthcare were driving a large part of the region's growth.

Graeme Musson, branch manager at Allied Workforce Labour in Wanganui, said the development of several large buildings and retail centres had helped fuel the jobs' boost.

"There's a lot of positivity in Wanganui at the moment. I've haven't seen this number of cranes along the skyline in a long time."

One building under construction is the Victoria retail centre, including Farmers, which will boast seven specialty shops in the front. A retail development in Bulls has seen a new BP service station open with a Four Square due soon.

"The money's always been there but the confidence has always lacked," Mr Musson said.

"These are buildings being built by owners who live out of town and are investing here."

While the developments ensured a higher number of construction jobs, the retail sector would also benefit from more opportunities once the centres were up and running, he said.

"Hopefully, they might attract out-of-town chains and employ more people."

The survey figures for the April-to-June period show the whole country enjoyed high job growth, encouraging people to stay here, rather than pack up and go to Australia.

TradeMe jobs head Peter Osborne said the number of 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 a Budget that had a cooling effect on the number of jobs advertised in May," 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 opportunities also contributed to the lowest-ever level of migration to Australia in May, Mr Osborne said.

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

However, the Statistics NZ household labour force survey showed the employment rate in Wanganui and Manawatu - the percentage of people employed in the working-age population - was 59.2 per cent in the March quarter, down from 61 per cent a year earlier.