September 19th, 2024
The big picture: The latest figures from Stats NZ unveil a significant annual increase in filled jobs within New Zealand's health care and social assistance industry, marking a robust 5.3 percent growth, or 13,692 jobs, for the year ended December 2023.
This surge led the sectors as the nation observed an overall 2.9 percent rise in employment across all industries, translating to 64,843 additional jobs compared to the same quarter in the previous year.
Zoom in: Sue Chapman, the business employment insights manager at Stats NZ, highlighted the steady growth in health care industry jobs throughout 2023, following a period of subdued activity in the latter half of 2022. This rebound is particularly noteworthy, reflecting the sector's resilience and expanding demand for health care services.
Details: Stats NZ's method for calculating filled jobs relies on averaging weekly job figures based on tax data throughout each quarter. Besides health care, the public administration and safety sector also saw significant growth, with an 8.5 percent increase or 13,128 jobs, largely fueled by hiring for the general election in October 2023.
Annual gross earnings surge: Alongside job growth, total gross earnings across all sectors for the year ending December 2023 surged by 9.0 percent, reaching an increase of $14.2 billion. This growth pushed the year's total earnings to $171.1 billion, up from $156.9 billion in the previous year. The health care and social assistance industry was a major contributor, with a 17 percent increase in gross earnings, amounting to an additional $3.1 billion.
What they're saying: "The extra workers employed to help with the general election in October 2023 provided the biggest contribution to filled job growth in the public sector," noted Chapman, underlining the significant impact of political activities on employment figures.
The bottom line: New Zealand's labor market, particularly in the health care and social assistance sector, demonstrated strong growth in December 2023, signaling a positive shift in employment trends. With substantial increases in both job numbers and gross earnings, these developments reflect an expanding workforce and economic resilience in the face of global and domestic challenges.