Our take on the latest Employment indicators (Wed 28 Oct 2020)
Filled jobs up 0.9%pa in September
Public sector grows strongly, adding 11,000+ jobs in a year
Under-30 female employment falls 3.5%pa
The key numbers...
- Filled job numbers continued to strengthen in September, with a 0.9%pa rise.
- Public sector jobs drove this gain, with public administration and safety roles up 8.2%pa. This rise equates to just over 11,000 additional jobs during the last year, with more than 4,500 additional roles in the last month! Health care and social assistance employment also rose 3.7%pa, reinforcing this public sector boost.
- Construction jobs are also showing promise, up 5.1%pa, as housing and building activity remains buoyant. In contrast, declines for transport, administration, and accommodation roles were pronounced.
- Tasman and Hawke’s Bay regions saw strong gains in employment, up 5.7%pa and 4.2%pa respectively.
- In terms of total jobs added over the last 12 months, Wellington and Waikato regions both saw more than 4,000 jobs added, surprisingly ahead of Auckland, which recorded just over 3,000 additional jobs.
Not everyone's feeling the COVID-19 effect the same
Annual change in filled jobs, September 2020
...and our reaction
- The labour market appears to be holding up well as we head towards the end of 2020, with job numbers in a much stronger position than we feared earlier in the year.
- September’s numbers do show a slight slowing in job growth, but there’s no definite trend here yet.
- The various breakdowns of these filled jobs numbers reiterate that the pandemic and economic hit are not being felt evenly. Public sector, health, and construction jobs are all holding firm, with additional work bolstering employment.
- However, other areas like transport, administration, accommodation, hospitality, and education are all still keenly feeling the pressure.
- Employment outcomes for young people continue to worsen, with filled jobs for under-30-year-olds down 3.1%pa even as roles filled by those aged 30 and over increased 2.3%pa. Young women remain the most affected, with the decline in filled jobs worsening to 3.5%pa.
- Regional changes are also showing through, with Auckland – representing one third of the economy – adding jobs at the third-slowest pace of all regions over the last year.
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