What´s the New Zealand job market like at the moment?

As some of you might know, the job offer in New Zealand is very high at the moment. But what does it mean for job seekers?

What could you do

Change jobs: A couple of weeks ago, NZ Herald wrote an article outlining some statistics and comparisons between the current job market and how it was looking back in 2011. It can be said accordingly, that the job market has never been as candidate-driven as it is right now. Meaning that this is the perfect time for promotions or careers swap. Employers are looking for new talent, but also to retain their current talent; therefore if you are looking for a promotion or a new challenge within your company this is the time to ask for it.

Look at a pay raise: Some of you may be feeling that there is room for improvement in term of salary; take advantage of the momentum and negotiate it. There is high demand for workers, and chances are that your company will consider increasing the salary as long as your expectations are reasonable. If you want to know more information about the average package according to the market, follow this link.

Get more benefits: Take advantage of the job market and request or negotiate more benefits in terms of work-life balance. Covid-19 proved that there is a great chance that people could work from home partially, therefore more people are having flexible working arrangements these days, which could be an advantage for those individuals that have younger children or people that enjoy working from home.

Change your career focus: If you want to change your industry, this would be the perfect moment; companies are more open to train and take on apprentices and internships, some are even willing to pay for courses and further studies.

1. New Zealand is still coping with the global pandemic; therefore essential services that were understaffed are desperately looking for more talent. Also some services that were not considerated “Essential” became essencial and had to adapt and step up in order to cover the demand.
2. The borders are still closed and for that reason, the amount of talent coming to New Zealand has reduced drastically. Consequently, employers are more likely to be flexible when hiring, and the unemployment rate decreases as more local talents get hired.
3. Currently, in order to control inflation and to avoid a financial crisis, the government has lowered interest rates, making it more accessible and cheaper for companies to access capital and invest in projects. Land development companies, for example, would be able to borrow money from the bank at a lower rate, to invest in the construction of residential and commercial projects that bring a higher return on capital.
According to Statista “In the first quarter of 2021, over 170 thousand people were employed in this (construction) industry; a significant increase from just a decade prior”
If you ever need further help getting a job please get in touch and let our team help you in your job-seeking process.

Juan

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