NZ employers are expecting to hire in 2016

Job opportunities for newcomers to New Zealand are likely to remain plentiful over the coming months, according to the findings of a new survey.

The latest Hudson Report: Forward Focus 2016, reveals that New Zealand employers’ intent to hire has reached a six-year high, with 92.5 per cent planning to increase or maintain headcount in the first half of the year.

The survey’s results also indicate that 63 per cent of the New Zealand workforce will be open to new opportunities in 2016, creating an increasingly fluid job market.

The Hudson Report, which monitors employer hiring intentions across New Zealand, has been expanded to include data on job seekers and their career plans, providing a complete picture of the 2016 New Zealand talent market.

The six-year peak is bolstered by a surge of growth across industries that have been somewhat muted in the past, said Roman Rogers, Executive General Manager, Hudson New Zealand.

“What we’re seeing is other sectors starting to pull their weight including manufacturing, transport, tourism, financial services and, chiefly, IT has regained momentum,” Mr Rogers said.

Employers in the IT industry dominate the latest figures, with a net 40.7 per cent looking to increase or maintain permanent headcount across all three of the main metropolitan centres; Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, with tech businesses booming in the Auckland and Christchurch hubs, and government projects behind the growth in Wellington.

“Organisations are looking to bring greater efficiencies to what they do, and if they’re not, then their customers are demanding it,” Rogers says.

“There is a lack of tolerance for organisations that are antiquated with their technology. We are seeing a real groundswell to keep pace with that demand, with organisations recognising the need to invest in IT in order to stay relevant,” he adds.

Organisational growth has been cited by employers as the number one reason to add to headcount (52 per cent), followed by increased workload (43 per cent).

Rogers continues: “Growth is a good problem to have, it reflects a positive economy. While it makes talent attraction harder, it also means more customers and revenue for your business. The key is to plan for this uptick in economic and hiring activity so you aren’t caught short.” .

Geographically, people working in Construction, Property and Engineering sector are in high demand in both Auckland (net 43.6 per cent) and Christchurch (net 30.7 per cent), reflecting growth in infrastructure and the nationwide push to fill the housing shortage.

“Large scale projects in each of the three major cities will continue to drive that trajectory,” Rogers explains. “In Christchurch there is still the rebuild and a number of years’ worth of investment. Projects of national importance are evident across the country; Auckland is dotted with road projects, there’s a new wave of investment in the CBD and ongoing property projects as a flow-on from the housing shortage,” he adds.