A boost in the number of jobs being advertised in the Bay of Plenty is providing a glimmer of hope the sluggish economy might be picking up, but it’s come with a warning that there are still some tough times ahead.

Job ads increased in the Bay of Plenty by 16 per cent in July compared with the previous month, according to the latest Seek NZ Employment Report.

That rise is the biggest out of any region in New Zealand and is the biggest hike seen in the Bay in more than three years.

The Seek report showed the boost in job ads were in the retail and consumer products (up 24 per cent), and hospitality and tourism (up 20 per cent) sectors.

But the figures for the Bay of Plenty and nationally show the number of jobs is still a long way off what they were a year ago – with the year-on-year trend being down 20 per cent for the Bay of Plenty and 29 per cent nationally.

Bay Events managing director Dana McCurdy, whose company specialises in exhibition and events organising, says from her business’s perspective, confidence is looking better in the Bay of Plenty in the coming months.

Dana says they are in the process of putting together the Bay of Plenty Home and Outdoor Show in October and she is impressed with the number of sales so far.

She says that's a great indication businesses want to put themselves “back out there”, which will result in more jobs.

Dana McCurdy from Bay Events says business is looking positive in the coming months. Photo / Andrew Warner.

“From a business standpoint, we are planning and booking so far out we can see what’s coming and the forward bookings are looking good.”

Cautious optimism

But 1st Call Recruitment general manager Andela Singleton says a rise in month-on-month figures should be viewed cautiously.

She says the year-on-year trend in the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand is far from where it needs to be.

The Bay of Plenty historically booms more from September to April, given its tourism and hospitality vibe, Andela says, and the monthly rise in job ads in July could have been a result of businesses planning for those months.

“There’s Christmas parties, end-of-year functions, it’s warmer, everyone’s happier, people are buying and getting ready for Christmas. But this isn’t a true indication of where the market is. We are still 20% down year-on-year and the economy is still really sluggish.”

Andela says inflation is still too high and interest rates need to come down, despite the Reserve Bank’s announcement last week it's cutting the Official Cash Rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent – the first reduction in four years.

“We know every industry is hurting significantly... We are seeing ghost towns throughout New Zealand because people just don’t have surplus cash... The kids’ shoes are a bit worn but we won’t buy new ones now, we’ll give it another month, we won’t do those $20k renovations and will do it after Christmas, that all has a flow-on effect in every industry.”

Singleton said their customers predicted the economy, and therefore the job market, wasn’t likely to improve significantly until the start of next year.

More from the report

The Seek report shows applications per job ad remained steady, rising 7 per cent month-on-month.

Southland (-12 per cent), Tasman (-4 per cent) and Gisborne (-1 per cent) were the only regions to record a monthly fall in job ads.

Bay of Plenty saw the largest increase, with job ads rising by 16 per cent from June – the largest monthly growth the region has experienced in over three years.

Nationally, most industries recorded an increase in job ads in July, some to a significant degree. The customer-facing industries saw notable growth – including retail and tourism.

But there is also significant growth (22 per cent) in government and defence jobs. Consulting and strategy is the only industry where job ads declined in July, down 7 per cent.

Some industries, such as manufacturing, transport and logistics, and administration and office support roles, recorded no change month-on-month.

While white-collar and service industry roles drove the increase in job ads in the major cities, outside of the urban centres, the construction sector recorded a 14 per cent increase in job ads, driven by rises in design and architecture and trades and services.

Seek country manager Rob Clark says while it'as pleasing to see an increase in job ad volumes, this comes after five months of consecutive declines, including an 8 per cent fall in June.

”As seasonal industries that are prone to fluctuation, the rise in volumes in retail and consumer products and hospitality and tourism may be a sign of businesses preparing for busier seasons,” says Rob.

In some of the larger regions, including Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Wellington, July saw the largest monthly rise in job ads in over two years, or three years in the Bay of Plenty’s case.

”What hasn’t changed this month is the fierce competition among candidates, which shows no sign of abating,” says Rob.

-Bay of Plenty Times.