Good news all round for New Zealand employment

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Statistics New Zealand
only releases labour market information every quarter unlike in Australia where
the ABS releases labour market data
every month. The most recent release for the March
2013 quarter highlighted some excellent news for the New Zealand
economy.

Statistics
New Zealand reported that, nationally, in the March 2013 quarter,
compared with the December 2012 quarter:

The number of people employed increased
by 38,000 (up 1.7 percent).
Australia’s rise in the equivalent period was 0.8%.
The unemployment rate fell 0.6
percentage points, to 6.2 percent.
Australia’s unemployment was 5.5% in March 2013.
The number of people unemployed
decreased by 15,000 people (down 9.1 percent).
Australia’s unemployed rose by 1.7% in the equivalent period.
The labour force participation rate
increased 0.6 percentage points to 67.8 percent.
(Australia: 65.2%)

The most encouraging segment of this data was the
growth (listed below) being experienced in the Canterbury region; the area
immediately impacted by the February 2011 earthquake.

Dec 2010
quarter: 234,900 people employed (fulltime & part-time)
March 2011
quarter: 231,700
March 2012
quarter: 220,400
March 2013
quarter: 235,400

Statistics New Zealand reported that the 6.8 per cent
annual increase in employed persons, from the 2012 March quarter to the 2013
March quarter, was the largest annual percentage increase in the Canterbury
region since the March 2005 quarter.

Canterbury’s
fulltime employment for March 2013, compared to the same period 12 months ago,
rose 7.6 per cent, with part-time employment climbing a more modest 4.6 per
cent.

Statistics
New Zealand further noted that the industries with the largest annual rise in
filled jobs in Canterbury were construction, healthcare and social assistance,
accommodation and food services (hotels, cafes, and restaurants).

Overall
it’s a very encouraging sign of the Canterbury region returning to economic
life after a very tough past 12 months.