An increasing number of job advertisements this year was a sign of a strong labour market, ANZ senior economist Sharon Zollner said yesterday.
Job ads rose 3.1% in August, seasonally adjusted, the seventh consecutive monthly lift, Advertisements were 12.1% higher than a year ago, on a three-month average.
Auckland job ads were 14.1% higher than a year ago and Wellington job ads were up 11.5%, year-on-year, which was a "spectacular turnaround" in 2016, she said.
The slowing of the rebuild effort continued to weigh on the Canterbury labour market, with job ads now 8.8% lower than a year ago.
Less urbanised regions continued to experience very strong labour demand. Job ads carried by the Otago Daily Times increased 15.3% on an annual basis and Waikato showed the largest increase at 21.9%.
"Employment demand is clearly strengthening rapidly. Despite solid growth in labour supply, skill shortages are set to become an increasing challenge for businesses."
