Otago appears to be shrugging off recent negative news about job losses, with employment confidence in the region rising into positive territory in the three months ended June.
The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index showed Otago with a reading of 102.1 points at the end of June, up 13.3 from the 88.8 recorded in March. A number above 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.
Southland came in at 98.4 points, up 3.2 from March. Canterbury's index fell three points to 110.6 and Auckland was down slightly to 104.
Nationally, the index rose to 104.2 in June, up from 100.7 in March.
Last week, New Zealand Post announced it would close the Dunedin mail centre at the cost of 73 jobs and Taieri Print was considering laying off up to 10 people due to a change in market conditions.
Otago-Southland Employers' Association chief executive John Scandrett told the Otago Daily Times that recently, employer confidence in the region's manufacturing and services sectors continued to sit ''comfortably'' in expansionary bands. With those positive sentiments appearing, it was time to cautiously lift optimism on the overall health of regional workplace wellbeing.
''We do need to recognise that these surveys encompass the wider Otago region and that Dunedin, on balance, accounts for about half of the regional economic activity levels seen. So, against that backdrop and accepting that we have had to digest some pretty negative city news lately, the `global regional' picture should be viewed in positive terms.''
There was now recognition that beyond droughts and floods, and beyond some selected business closures and downsizing, there was widespread local confirmation many operators were effectively managing their businesses, Mr Scandrett said.
''These people do recognise the importance of having great staff on board. Top-down appreciation of employee contribution to business success is clearly evident, and these attitudes not only reflect the positive current worker mind-set but also employee views on their forward workplace value.''
The sheer scale of recently announced infrastructure development across the country, particularly in Canterbury in the case of Otago-Southland, sent a strong reminder to both employers and employees in the shoulder regions that, within the business mix, people mattered, he said.
Westpac senior economist Felix Dulbruck said the survey did not suggest the labour market was ''off to the races''. A better characterisation would be a slow uphill climb.
