New report reveals strong employment growth for casual roles
Employment growth in New Zealand remained strong in March, with casual employment fuelling the job market despite global pressures, according to a new report.
Employment Hero's Jobs Report revealed that employment growth in March went up 5.8% year-on-year, but down slightly compared with the 6.8% increase in February.
However, job openings remained up 0.5% in March month-on-month, and up 0.7% compared to three months ago.
The South Island drove the country's employment growth with a 4.6% increase year-on-year, and a 1.2% monthly growth, according to the report.
It attributed the continued growth in job openings across the country to a surge in casual positions, which went up 18.3% year-on-year.
Casual roles also increased 3.3% when compared with December, and went up 0.7% month-on-month, according to the findings.
Neil Webster, Employment Hero General Manager NZ, said the current situation stems from global uncertainty felt by business owners.
"While it is positive to see employment growth holding up in the face of increasing global pressures, it is clear that employers are seeking out workers for casual and part-time positions rather than full-time work. This comes amid high levels of uncertainty and an unclear economic outlook," Webster said in a statement.
Wage growth in New Zealand
Meanwhile, wage growth also went up 1.1% year-on-year to reach a median hourly rate of $35.3, according to the Employment Hero report.
The South Island also drove wage growth in the country with a 2.8% year-on-year increase, higher than the 1.1% yearly increase recorded for the North Island.
Canterbury also posted a stronger 2.9% wage growth year-on-year, with a 1.8% monthly growth.
"While wages are certainly looking more positive for workers in Canterbury, the story is very different for other areas of the South Island and the North Island, where wage increases are falling significantly behind inflation, leaving workers worse off," Webster said.
Casual employees, despite being in demand, only saw a 1.2% year-on-year increase in wages, according to the report.
Part-time roles recorded a 2.9% yearly increase in wages, while full-time work logged a 2.6% increase.
Webster also noted that monthly wage growth for workers is down 1.6% month-on-month, while it was flat for full-time staff.
"This could be driven by high unemployment, taking wage pressures off employers," the general manager said.
