Crunching the data - thousands of jobs on offer

Staffing remains the number one priority for Queenstown business with demand above pre-Covid levels.
The latest JobFix data report shows there were 3,226 jobs advertised in the July-September quarter.
That’s more than double the 1,456 available over the same period last year and even more than the 2,220 advertised in 2019.
The food & beverage / hotels sector have the vast majority of vacancies, making up some 70% of roles advertised, at 2,165. As everyone in the industry and customers can attest, there aren’t even enough staff to enable businesses to open ‘normal’ operating hours. Staff and managers are dealing with fatigue and burn-out as it is.
Critically, the inability to attract chefs, kitchen staff and front-of-house comes regardless of the rates of pay and conditions on offer. The Government’s relaxation of visa restrictions around chefs might help but that remains to be seen.
National Party spokesperson Erica Stanford was in town recently meeting with Queenstown’s MP Joseph Mooney. They highlighted that despite there being as many as 70,000 work visas available, only 30,000 people have applied, and worst still, only 8,000 have arrived.
Stanford says the situation isn’t going to improve anytime soon, as whole sectors that make up much of the casual workforce are not returning to NZ. Overseas students, who work as casuals or part time, for example, are down 50% on pre-Covid levels. With a net migration loss of 12,000 people, businesses are facing the biggest labour shortage for 50 years, Mooney adds.
Back to the stats, the retail, services and tourism sector is second for jobs advertised with JobFix, on 586, and construction third on 370. There were also 79 roles in finance & admin, and 26 in government bodies.
All sectors were advertising more roles this year than any corresponding quarter since 2018.
July and August appear to have been the peak months for recruitment this year so far, and both were record months. Traditionally, these two months are quieter, but the winter surge was later as international visitor numbers returned stronger than anticipated. November is usually a busy month too, as businesses begin the ramp up to summer.
September averaged 222 jobs advertised each week. This compared with 225 for the weekly average in August and was down 7% on the high in July.
The latest Business Confidence Survey results reflect confidence in local business has increased but confidence in the district’s economy and New Zealand’s in particular is low.
Most business activity metrics, from cell phone activity to guest nights and spend data, are up, back to near 2019 levels. So, the battle for staff is expected to continue and even become more competitive as summer approaches, although the hope is that the cold Northern Hemisphere winter will see workers look for overseas opportunities, allied to the slow return of international students.