16 August 2009 - The New Zealand employment market contracted significantly, according to a study of 48,000 jobs on Trade Me Jobs in the first half of 2009. "With many businesses shedding staff and those in employment staying put, we've seen a huge increase in job seeker activity," said Trade Me Jobs Head, Jimmy McGee.

"The net result was fewer advertised jobs, which received nearly double the applications per job compared to the second half of 2008."

"Worst affected was the construction sector, while administration and support jobs have also suffered. From a geographic perspective, Auckland and Wellington have felt the brunt of the downturn, especially certain areas immediately outside the CBD."

"In spite of this, we've seen some mild wage inflation, with the majority of occupations showing salary increases." Doctors take the mantle as the best paid, with an average pay packet of $132,401. IT jobs took out the next four positions. Grey District on the West Coast had the largest average salaries on offer ($81,451), benefiting from the energy sector bias. Following close behind were Auckland ($73,334) and Wellington ($72,331). Moving forward, there is reason for cautious optimism for the remainder of 2009.

"The rate of deterioration was greatest in February. Since then, the market has slowly stabilised."

"We expect to see three trends emerge over the next year. Firstly, continued buoyancy in the healthcare and education sectors, with some mild recovery in banking and finance. Secondly, employers will look to fill vacancies with part-time and contract workers. Last, those in employment will look at other job options, as a hedge against continued uncertainty."