Education, health care, and construction lift March quarter jobs

Filled jobs in the March 2021 quarter rose by 0.2 percent or 3,670 jobs, compared with the December 2020 quarter, Stats NZ said today.

This rise was aided by increases in the education, health care, and construction sectors.

When seasonally adjusted, the PAYE tax-based series, rose to 2.1 million jobs in the March 2021 quarter, following a small fall in the December 2020 quarter.

Education and training, up 10,119 jobs (5.2 percent) had the largest increase, followed by health care and social assistance, up 4,964 jobs (2.1 percent), and construction, up 3,123 jobs (1.9 percent).

"Health care has had sustained increases in filled jobs over the last year, with construction jobs also rising significantly in that period," business insights manager Sue Chapman said.

"The large lift in education jobs this quarter appears to be due to a changing seasonal pattern. In recent years, we've seen smaller than usual falls in filled jobs over the school and university summer holiday period."

Public administration and safety, down 6,236 jobs (4.1 percent) had the largest fall, followed by administrative and support services down 2,704 jobs (2.9 percent).

"The 2020 General Election significantly boosted filled jobs in public sector administration in the December 2020 quarter, which is why we have seen a drop off in March," Ms Chapman said.

North Island leading rises in filled jobs

North Island regions typically saw rises in seasonally adjusted filled jobs, in the March 2021 quarter, compared with the December 2020 quarter.

The largest rise was in the Auckland region, up 3,810 jobs (0.5 percent), followed by Waikato, up 2,044 jobs (1.0 percent).

South Island regions on average remained relatively flat.

Canterbury had the strongest rise in filled jobs compared with other regions in the South Island, jobs were up 1,423, an increase of 0.5 percent.

However, Otago had the largest fall in filled jobs of any region. Filled jobs in this region fell by 716, a drop of 0.7 percent, and Marlborough had a fall of 451 jobs (1.8 percent).

"Jobs in Otago have been falling every quarter since March 2020, when COVID-19 border restrictions came into effect and heavily impacted the number of tourists to the region," Ms Chapman said.

Filled jobs well down in key tourism areas

In actual terms, the area with the largest fall in filled jobs was Auckland, down 1.8 percent (13,311 jobs) in the March 2021 quarter, compared with the March 2020 quarter.

This was followed by Queenstown-Lakes district, down 10 percent (2,155 jobs), and the Marlborough district, down 3.1 percent (786 jobs).

Tauranga had the largest boost in filled jobs, in all the areas, up 1.3 percent (712 jobs).

"Queenstown and Marlborough, which are usually tourist destinations in New Zealand, are still largely affected by the lack of international visitors," Ms Chapman said.

"These regions may also be affected by a lower number of overseas seasonal workers who often fill jobs during the busy seasons."

Year-on-year earnings slow

For total gross earnings, comparisons are on an annual basis to account for payroll timings.

Gross earnings for the year ended March 2021 were $133 billion, up $3.7 billion (2.9 percent) on the year ended March 2020.

This growth is slower than the historical trend, due to lower earnings during the June quarter that coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown.

Gross earnings in the health care and social assistance industry rose by $1.2 billion (8.3 percent) from the March 2020 year.

The largest fall in earnings was in the transport, postal, and warehousing industry. Total gross earnings for this industry fell by $446 million (7.0 percent) from the March 2020 year. The airline industry was the largest factor in this decrease.