Perception that jobs are harder to find driving weakness in confidence, report says
Employment confidence in New Zealand fell by 2.2 points in the September quarter to reach near pandemic-era lows, according to the latest Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Survey.
The Employment Confidence Index in New Zealand dropped to 89.2 in the September quarter, indicating employees' continued pessimism about the state of the labour market.
Michael Gordon, senior economist at Westpac, said the perception that jobs are becoming much harder to find is the "biggest driver" in the weakness in confidence.
"Job vacancies have been shrinking for some time, and in the last few months we've seen a turn to outright job losses," Gordon said in a statement.
New Zealand job ads have been "fluctuating" as of late, with SEEK's report revealing a one-per cent decline in job postings in August after a four-per cent increase in July.
But before this increase, job ads had been on a decline since February 2024, according to SEEK's Employment Report.
Source: SEEK's Employment Report - August
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Job confidence level by region
Meanwhile, Westpac's report also revealed that confidence levels dropped in seven regions and increased in four.
The biggest fall in confidence was seen in Auckland, while Wellington remains the most downbeat region, according to the report.
"This is a useful reminder that although the public sector cutbacks have been widely reported, their experience has not been unique," Gordon said. "It's sectors such as construction, manufacturing, and retail that have seen the most significant job losses to date."
On the other hand, employment confidence was up in Waikato, the Bay of Plenty, as well as Canterbury.
"While jobs were still seen as harder to come by in these regions, workers were more optimistic about future earnings growth and job security," Gordon said.