The pay cheques of the country's 22,000 meat workers will be thousands of dollars lighter this year with their seasonal jobs likely to be cut short by up to seven weeks because of falling sheep numbers.
Hiring intentions in the South Island have risen solidly, mainly driven by the construction industry, which is undertaking extensive work required to repair homes and buildings damaged in the Canterbury earthquake.
The amalgamation this year of St John's two southern regions will not see any job losses at St John in Otago or Southland, but some senior management may find themselves with new roles.
Seasonal workers and part-time work by students could be the reason the average Otago salary is well down the list published yesterday by SEEK New Zealand.
Random testing and the use of covert electronic surveillance could be among powers to be used by the Dunedin City Council to root out drug abuse by its staff.
Whiteware manufacturer Fisher and Paykel Appliances hopes to increase its Dunedin workforce to about 180 people by the middle of next year as it expands its production design and call centre staffing levels.
Two women helping promote Dunedin's biggest and best events and turning them into headline grabbers, can both say that who you know is a key to success in event management.
University of Otago doctoral researcher Barrie Irving is urging caution in interpreting a study which suggests many 15- and 16-year-old Dunedin schoolgirls want to become hairdressers, kindergarten teachers and air hostesses.
While the recession has meant some employers may look a little Scrooge-like when it comes to Christmas largesse for their loyal workers, others are continuing traditions practised for many years.
An elephant handler was sacked after being told that his long-time charge, Jumbo, was "lost", only to read in a newspaper the animal had been given to the RSPCA.
Workers seem more optimistic about their future job prospects but are worried about job availability, the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index shows.
"It's not easy, but we just find a way to deal with life without him."
Employer representatives see the latest change to employment law as fair and balanced but union representatives are still condemning what they see as a trampling of workers' rights.
Dunedin City Council chief executive Jim Harland says the council remains a happy workplace, despite more than one-quarter of employees opting not to express pride in working for the organisation in an internal survey.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.4 percent in the September quarter from 6.9 percent in the previous three months, as the number of people employed rose 23,000 or 1 percent to 2.19 million.
The burgeoning cruise-ship industry will create almost 200 additional jobs for Dunedin by next season - but future growth could be curtailed unless the industry is better catered for, a report finds.
Evidence suggests the New Zealand labour market continued its trend of slow improvement in the three months ended September, but economists are warning that volatility may cause a surprise.
In July 2009, the Employment Court made a decision on pay rates that was estimated would cost the residential care sector between $400 million and $500 million in back pay and between an extra $60 million and $70 million a year on an ongoing basis.
The deinstitutionalisation of care for the intellectually disabled in this country - moved during the 1980s and beyond from large "homes" where they were cared for by staff employed under public service conditions into small groups in community houses - was considered socially desirable and also provided fiscal benefits.
A former Dunedin man has been named New Zealand's best bus driver.
