Employment Update - August/September 2024
This employment update provides an insight into the current market from both a national and local perspective, and includes commentary from our own market observations.
Unemployment Rates - Update
As at the end of June 2024, New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6%. This was an increase on the previous quarter by 0.2% (March 2024 quarter 4.4%), and up a full percentage point compared to June 2023 (3.6%). Predictions had the end of June figure at a slightly higher 4.7%.
Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed New Zealanders has risen by 33,000 to 143,000. Deb Brunning, Stats NZ Labour Market Manager said that “unemployment has been increasing since 2022, leaving the current quarter’s unemployment rate the highest since March 2021”.
Stats NZ’s labour market revealed that young New Zealanders aged between 15 – 24 years made up almost half of the increase in unemployment, with an additional 14,400 more jobless compared to the same period in 2023.
Stuff reported on 8 August 2024 that there are currently 83,200 potentially available jobseekers, and 23,000 unavailable jobseekers. Not sure how that works!
Wages
Despite the increasing unemployment rate, wages have continued to rise - +4.3% to year ending 30 June 2024 and up 1.2% compared to quarter ending March 2024.
While job losses have risen within the public sector, Stats NZ have reported that public sector average weekly earnings have increased to $1,934 which is an increase of 7.5%. It was suggested that the rise may be attributed to collective agreements being settled in education and healthcare.
Within the private sector, weekly average earnings increased to $1,528 - a 4.4% increase.
Job Applications – Trends
We are continuing to receive higher numbers of job applications compared to the same period last year. In January 2024, we received the highest number of applications (excluding international applications/no entitlement to work in NZ) received in our 16 years of business and for the first four months of this year our applications were 80% higher than the corresponding period in 2023.
January 2024 is still the winner with number of applications received, however year to date we are sitting just above a 40% increase year on year.
It is still proving to be very difficult to find the right person with the right skillset for vacancies as candidates are not always applying for roles that necessarily align with the required skillset.
Job Vacancy - Trends
Seek reported as at end of June 2024, that month-on-month job ads had declined by 8% nationally and by 35% year-on-year. Applications per job had slowed to an increase of just 1% month-on-month.
Regionally, Southland was the only region that didn’t record a fall in job volumes month-on-month. This is mainly due to a rise in Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics roles.
Trades & Services showed the largest decline with job ad volumes down 12% in May 2024.
Professional Services roles were amongst the only roles that recorded an increase in job ad volumes in May. (Seek’s reporting of applications per job has a one-month time lag.)
Recent employment legislation changes/Proposed changes
- It was reported on 22 May 2024 that ACT Small Business spokesperson, Laura Trask, has introduced a new members bill to the parliamentary ballot to assist both employers and employees avoid costly unfair dismissal or personal grievance claims. The bill would enable employers to open protected negotiations for the termination of an employment contract. Under the law as it stands, an employer is not able to offer an employee money to leave where an employment situation just doesn’t work and in some circumstances the employee would be happy to accept an offer. -watch this space!
