Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Employment
,
Good news
,
Household Labour Force Survey
,
Labour Force Participation Rate
It may be a lousy day outside today, but there's still good news in abundance; the Herald reports:
Employment confidence is at its highest level in nearly six years and Auckland has overtaken Canterbury as the most confident region in the latest Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index survey.
The index rose to 109.9 in the June quarter from 108.4 in the March quarter. The June quarter level is the highest since September 2008, when the global financial crisis was affecting sentiment. A number over 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.
Still, the index remains considerably below the 135.9 peak in September 2007, a year prior to the global financial crisis.
Employment confidence was net positive for ten out of 11 regions, and Auckland overtook Canterbury as the most confident region.
"Auckland's unemployment rate deteriorated by more than the rest of the country during the recession, and has been slow to improve since then," Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said. "In that light, the latest survey suggests the region's job market is no longer underperforming."
This is great news, especially the increase in confidence in the Auckland job market, which is New Zealand's biggest by far. With the March Household Labour Force Survey confirming there were more people in the workforce in New Zealand than ever before, it is another sign that employers are confident that the economic recovery is not a flash in the pan.
Doubtless the opposition parties will try to talk these figures down, because a narrative of economic success does not suit them going into an election campaign. At the moment however, we would suggest that one of the biggest threats to employment (for Labour MP's at least) is Labour's continued poor polling which makes it increasingly likely that several current MP's will be looking for a new gig after September 20th.
But the numbers don't lie; employment is growing, and there is a growing level of optimism with regards to future employment growth. That's something we all should be celebrating.
