Public administration and construction were the largest drivers of job growth in the December 2021 quarter, Stats NZ said today.
Filled jobs rose by 0.8 percent or about 17,000 jobs between the September and December 2021 quarters after adjusting for seasonal effects.
This follows larger quarterly increases of 1.6 percent in the September 2021 quarter and 1.2 percent in the June 2021 quarter.
Auckland, the most populous region, had a smaller percentage increase in filled jobs of 0.5 percent (3,753 jobs), bringing the total number of seasonally adjusted filled jobs in the Auckland region to about 734,000 jobs.
These statistics use PAYE (pay as you earn) tax data to estimate filled job numbers and are adjusted to take into account seasonal effects.
"This reflects what we have seen in our other employment statistics, which showed increases in the employment rate and a tightening labour market," employment insights manager Sue Chapman said.
Unemployment rate at 3.2 percent has more information about Stats NZ's other measures of employment.
Total accrued earnings for the entire 2021 year were $142 billion, up by 8.5 percent ($11 billion) when compared with the 2020 year.
| Quarter | Percent change |
| Mar-16 | 0.6 |
| Jun-16 | 0.9 |
| Sep-16 | 0.9 |
| Dec-16 | 0.7 |
| Mar-17 | 0.5 |
| Jun-17 | 1.4 |
| Sep-17 | 0.9 |
| Dec-17 | 0.5 |
| Mar-18 | 0.6 |
| Jun-18 | 0.4 |
| Sep-18 | 0.3 |
| Dec-18 | 0.8 |
| Mar-19 | 0.7 |
| Jun-19 | 0.7 |
| Sep-19 | 0.6 |
| Dec-19 | 0.8 |
| Mar-20 | 0.1 |
| Jun-20 | -0.6 |
| Sep-20 | -0.2 |
| Dec-20 | -0.2 |
| Mar-21 | 0.2 |
| Jun-21 | 1.2 |
| Sep-21 | 1.6 |
| Dec-21 | 0.8 |
While total filled jobs have been steadily increasing over the last year, some industries have seen higher increases than others.
The industry with the biggest seasonally adjusted increase in job numbers this quarter was public administration and safety, which rose 3.4 percent (5,040 jobs) compared to the previous quarter.
Construction also experienced significant growth in filled jobs, rising by 2.3 percent (4,037 jobs).
Several industries had drops in filled jobs numbers when compared to the previous quarter. The largest drop was in the accommodation and food services industry, which had 2,073 fewer jobs (1.5 percent) in the December 2021 quarter when compared with the September 2021 quarter.
"The arts and recreation industry, although a much smaller industry, also experienced a seasonally adjusted drop in job numbers this quarter," Ms. Chapman said.
There were 1,237 fewer jobs (3.1 percent) in the arts and recreation industry when compared with the September 2021 quarter.
The arts and recreation industry is yet to recover to its all-time high of 42,000 jobs in March 2020, prior to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Industry ANZSIC06) | Percent change |
| Arts and Recreation Services | -3.1 |
| "Agriculture | -1.5 |
| Forestry | -1.5 |
| and Fishing" | -0.7 |
| Accommodation and Food Services | -0.5 |
| Information Media and Telecommunications | -0.5 |
| Manufacturing | 0 |
| "Transport | 0.1 |
| Postal | 0.2 |
| and Warehousing" | 1 |
| "Rental | 1.1 |
| Hiring | 1.2 |
| and Real Estate Services" | 1.3 |
| Education and Training | 1.7 |
| Wholesale Trade | 2.1 |
| Mining | 2.3 |
| Retail Trade | 2.3 |
| Other Services | 2.4 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 3.4 |
| Administrative and Support Services | |
| "Professional | |
| Scientific | |
| and Technical Service" | |
| "Electricity | |
| Gas | |
| Water | |
| and Waste Services" | |
| Construction | |
| Financial and Insurance Services | |
| Public Administration and Safety |
| Category |
