Otago has the second-highest rate of growth in job advertisements after Nelson-Tasman-Marlborough which has 41.9%.
The ANZ Job Ads series, released yesterday, showed there were 1737 jobs advertised in Otago in April, up from 991 in April 2015 and 1266 in April last year.
Statistics New Zealand’s Household Labour Force Survey, out on Wednesday, showed a correlation between the number of jobs advertised and the unemployment rate. Nelson-Tasman-Marlborough-West Coast had the lowest unemployment in the country at 2.8% and Otago had an unemployment rate of 4.4%.Otago Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls described the advertisement growth rate as "remarkable".
"This reinforces what were are hearing in the marketplace — there is a strong labour market, particularly in construction and tourism."
Businesses were busy recruiting but they were continuing to find it challenging to recruit staff with the appropriate skills, she said.
The shortage of suitable staff was stopping some businesses from expanding. At a conference this week in Auckland, Mrs Nicholls spoke to people from Otago whose businesses were expanding and were bringing people to the region from Auckland.
"People coming from outside the city are keen to move to Dunedin. Another dose of Auckland is always good for you to appreciate what we have here."
Recruitment firms were actively recruiting IT people from overseas because there were not enough of the right people available in New Zealand, she said.
There was "genuine concern" about the Government’s proposed changes to the immigration laws. People working in cafes in Central Otago and Queenstown were not earning enough to qualify for any exemptions.
Asked about the health of the region’s economy, Mrs Nicholls, who represents employers south of the Waitaki River, said there was a positive feeling among businesses.
Even allowing for the closure of Cadbury Confectionery in Dunedin, employers were feeling positive. Cadbury would remain busy until the end of the year, possibly employing another 100 seasonal workers before the factory closed.
"It is also pleasing to see Southland is now above the country average, although jobs have slowed in the past three months."
Southland had 358 jobs advertised last month compared with 335 in April last year and 386 in March this year.
ANZ chief economist Cameron Bagrie reported the overall ANZ index lifted a strong 2.8% in April and monthly growth had accelerated in recent months.
Job ads were 18.2% higher than a year ago, on a three-month average.
The ongoing high level of jobs indicated a strong labour market. In April, there were 43,304 jobs advertised nationally, up from 42,111 in March and 36,303 in April last year.
New Zealand’s unemployment rate fell to a surprising low of 4.9% in the three months ended March.
Mr Bagrie said the regions continued to set the pace. Of the 11 less-urbanised regions, all but Taranaki were experiencing stronger annual job ad growth than any of the three main centres.
That said, the regional picture over recent months was more mixed.
Auckland remained the strongest of the three main centres in annual growth terms. Wellington job ads were up 15% year-on-year and Canterbury job ads jumped to their highest level since mid-2015.
The construction, utilities, manufacturing and transport sector remained the largest sectorial driver of total job ads growth, he said.
The service sector was also contributing strongly, as was retail and tourism.
"The data suggests ongoing strong employment growth and the unemployment rate remaining under 5%. Lower unemployment will help propel wages higher."
It was impressive the level of job ads managed to jump strongly in April from what was already a strong level. It would be hard to repeat that too many more times.
The economic cycle was maturing and workers were harder to find, Mr Bagrie said.
