Our take on the latest Employment indicators (Wed 12 Jan 2022)
Filled jobs rise 0.4% (seasonally adjusted) in November
Earnings per filled job rises at fastest pace on record
Northland and Auckland jobs grew strongly
The key numbers...
- Filled job numbers rose further in November, up 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis and adding around 9,400 underlying positions.
- Earnings per filled job rose 7.6%pa over the 12 months to November 2021 – the largest annual increase since the series starts in 2001. Total earnings rose 9.6%pa over the same period (another record high).
- Construction and professional services led the jobs gains in November, rising 8.6% and 8.2%pa respectively over the last year. Construction jobs are now sitting just shy of the 200,000 mark. Retail and hospitality job numbers pushed higher, although primary sector and arts and recreation services employment fell.
- North Island employment picked up the pace again, rising 4.5% compared to 3.5%pa in the South Island. This faster pace was led by stronger job numbers in Northland and Auckland, with 5.6% and 4.7%pa increases respectively.
Wage pressure builds further
Earnings per filled job, annual average % change
...and our reaction
- Jobs growth has accelerated again as we start to get data from the period when Delta restrictions were being gradually reduced. The rise in hiring momentum reinforces the view that the economy has been able to continue on better than originally expected through the extended period of Delta restrictions.
- Earnings per filled job hitting a 20-year high clearly signals the heightened pressure on wages at present, with the difficulty finding and keeping labour requiring employers to put more cash on the table for workers.
- Trouble finding staff is clear in some areas, notably the primary sector, with an annual drop in worker numbers even as export prices remain high and workers are in demand.
- Higher inflation will increase the pressure on wages in 2022. With household costs going higher still, workers are in the box seat to command higher pay to secure their services.
- Strong job numbers are encouraging to see, with revived economic demand as Delta restrictions were removed being met with a need for more workers. The boost in Auckland employment is a clear example of this recovery.
- Economic activity was upbeat over the last two months of 2021, but pessimistic consumer confidence figures point to a still uncertain road in 2022. Labour market pressures are likely to be exacerbated when Omicron eventually hits New Zealand, with high levels of absenteeism seen in other parts of the world already.
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