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SERVICE WORKERS NEEDED By Lawrence Johnston THERE are plenty of vacancies in New Zealand in the service sector such as IT, but qualified builders are less in demand than a year ago, according to a recent Department of Labour, Skills in the Labour Market report.And the Department's May Job Vacancy Monitor shows Christchurch as an increasingly fertile place for someone looking for a job in IT, with vacancies in Auckland and Wellington also still evident. But skill shortages in New Zealand have generally eased compared to the record highs they were at in early 2005. It is a trend likely to continue over the coming year, though shortages are unlikely to lessen significantly, Communications and Marketing Director Richard Ninness said. "Recruitment conditions have improved for employers over the past year as economic growth has eased and more people entered the workforce, but the labour market is likely to remain tight for some time." Mr Ninness said a big increase in the labour supply recently had helped ease the pressure on employers. The labour force participation rate rose to a record high of 68.5 per cent in the March quarter, and net migration gains recovered over the past six months. At the same time, almost one in five firms continued to cite a shortage of labour as the main constraint on expansion in the March quarter, according to the Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion released by the NZ Institute of Economic Research. "Employers need to continue to address long-term skill shortages through initiatives such as increased productivity and training, as well as continue to target skilled and experienced migrants who can contribute to the labour market, when there is a shortage of candidates in New Zealand," Mr Ninness said. Findings in the Skills in the Labour Market report were also drawn from the Department's March Job Vacancy Monitor, which showed vacancies in the March quarter were eight per cent lower than a year earlier. There were still 26 per cent more vacancies than in the same period in 2003. The Job Vacancy Monitor is a monthly, one-day analysis of 25 newspapers and selected websites across the country. |
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