Unemployment rate falls, but little growth in employment

There were 7,000 fewer people unemployed in the December 2011 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today.

In the December 2011 quarter compared with the September 2011 quarter:

The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points, to 6.3 percent.

3,000 more people were employed.

The employment rate was flat, at 63.9 percent.

“We saw a steady employment rate because the increase in the number of people employed kept pace with the growing working-age population.  The employment rate has not changed for three consecutive quarters,” industry and labour statistics manager Diane Ramsay said.

Part-time employment rose 3.0 in the December quarter.  In unadjusted terms, the largest annual increase in part-time employment was in the education and training industry.  In contrast, full-time employment fell 0.8 percent.

These changes in full-time and part-time employment were reflected in a fall in the hours worked.  Both actual hours and usual hours worked fell – 1.4 percent and 0.9 percent respectively.  The fall in actual hours follows a September quarter peak in actual hours that was similar to that for make full-time employment.

The Household Labour Force Survey results are based on a representative sample of 15,000 households throughout New Zealand.  The survey is designed to produce estimates of the numbers of people employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force.

Employers opting for more experience as 40,000 youngsters get squeezed out.

Old people have displaced more than 40,000 teenagers from jobs in the past five years as more choose to stay on in the workforce and employers shun youth for experience.

Research by the Salvation Army’s social policy unit has found that the number of 15 to 19 years olds in paid work dropped by 42,600 in the last five years, while the numbers still working beyond 65 jumped by 40,200.

Researcher Alan Johnson said employers were holding on to experienced workers past the traditional retirement age – at the expense of taking on inexperienced young people.  “There is a tight labour market, so people without skills and a work ethic are the ones that are going to be excluded first,” he said.  “There is this huge increase in employment among people over 65, so employers faced with the prospect of employing someone, often for the same sort of work, who is older or a school-leaver, are possibly electing to opt for more mature workers because they are more reliable.”

As a share of each age group, employment rates fell in every five-year age bracket below 50, and rose in every age above 50 despite the recession.

National Property Values rose +1.1% for the quarter ending 31 Jan, and are now 3.3% below the previous market peak in late 2007, Quotable Value said in a report.  The national gain has come from rising values in Auckland, which are up +5.1% on the same time last year.  The number of house sales climbed by a fifth in December from a year earlier, according to Real Estate Institute figures last month, though the number of homes on the market remains low by historical standards.  Christchurch property values were +3.7% above the same month a year ago, with the average sale price at $377,040 up from $371,885.

NZ’s first Young Managing Director of the Year

Christchurch teenager James Agnew has become NZICA’s first Young Managing Director of the Year Award for his leadership of a student Young Enterprise company producing a sustainable-energy based emergency power generator.  The 17 year old is Managing Director of Advanced Clean Energies, a company of six St Thomas of Canterbury College students, founded to develop and manufacture their “Lion Emergency Power Generator”.

A recent article poses some interesting challenges to employers ….

 New technology presenting challenges to traditional workplace practices

 The rapid development of new communications technology is challenging the old way of doing things in today’s workplaces, says David Lowe, Employment Services Manager for the Employers & Manufacturers Association.

 “New technology such as smart phones and finger scanning are doing away with traditional work records, timesheets and other data entry,” Mr Lowe said.

 “Smart phones with global positioning can determine when and where an employee is at any time, so keeping a record of their hours to be charged, and generating an invoice, is much simpler.

 “They also present new social media challenges for employers.  “Finger scanning systems can replace manual timesheets and data entry.  “

Whereas this sort of technology is total normal for an entire generation of newer workers, for others it presents a constant round of surprises.

 “New systems are also blurring this line between work and home life, often to the advantage of both employers and employees.  “The downside is unhappy employees can make damaging comments about their job or employer on Facebook, and others may spend far too much personal time browsing the web at work.

 “These are just some of the challenges from new technology facing employers who must stay up to speed with what’s becoming possible, and develop clear guidelines on how to use it productively in the workplace.  “To help with this EMA has just published Employees and Technology so employers can deal systematically with these workplace issues.”

According to the statistics New Zealand country report, New Zealand in Profile: 2012, food prices in NZ have jumped significantly in the past five years while on average wages have going up by $5 an hour.  The report is a wrap of key statistics released throughout the previous year.  It shows a substantial jump in the price of most food items, a higher unemployment rate than Australia and a projected national population of almost five million by 2021.  Fruit prices are up +30% from 2006 prices while vegetables are up by +27.7%.  Fresh milk and cheese have increased +24.1% and +51.3% respectively, and bread has jumped +40.0%.  Wages have risen +24.0% over the five years, to an average of $898 a week and $24.78 per hour.  Unemployment in New Zealand sits at 6.8 per cent compared with 5.3 per cent in Australia.

We are currently planning symposium in Whangarei called Totems and Totara, Innovation in the Creative sector, for May 10th -13th 2012. The programme includes an opportunity to showcase innovative and unusual ideas that have been develop or being developed in Northland. There is an Innovation Trade Fair planned for the Saturday of the symposium and we would like to get the message out to as many people that might want to be involved.
We will also be offering workshop and speakers on issues like patenting and intellectual property ownership for those that wish to put products and ideas on the market.
If you think of someone with interesting ideas and they need further information they can go to the http://chartnorth.com/chart/project/Totems_and_Totara website or call me on my contact below.
Thanks for your consideration of this.

STATISTICS

 Wage rate grow 2.0 percent

 In the September 2011 quarter, salary and wage rates (including overtime) rose 0.6 percent.

In the year to the September 2011 quarter:

• Salary and wage rates (including overtime) increased 2.0 percent.
• Overtime wage rates increased 2.2 percent.
• Private sector salary and ordinary time wage rates increased 2.0 percent

>>more Labour Cost Index (Salary and Wage Rates): September 2011 quarter [1 November 2011]

 Unemployment rate relatively flat

 In the September 2011 quarter compared with the June 2011 quarter:

• The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.6 percent.
• Unemployment rose by 3,000 people.
• The number of people employed increase by 5,000.
• The employment rate was flat at 63.9 percent.

All figures have been seasonally adjusted.

>>more Household Labour Force Survey: September 2011 quarter [3 November 2011]

1. Beware of emails from social media sites - Many emails disguised as Facebook “Friend Requests” or invitations to “Join my network on Linkedin” appear to follow the regular email template, however all of the links contained within have been replaced with malicious ones. Never accept invitations from people you don’t know and do not click on links contained in these emails. Instead, login to your account to verify the legitimacy of these requests.
2. Beware of attachments – Many fake emails ask you to open attachments, which can then infect your computer with a virus or spyware. If spyware is downloaded to your computer, it can then record the keystrokes you use to log into your personal online accounts and then send that information back to the criminal. Never open attachments in suspicious emails.
3. Beware of links  - Many links are ”masked,” meaning that the link you see does not take you to that address but somewhere different, usually a faked website. Other times, links contain slight alterations, for example, microsoft.com may appear as micosoft.com or microsoft1293.com. Never click on links in suspicious emails or copy them into your browser.
4. Beware of emails disguised as sales confirmations – We’ve noticed an influx of emails disguised as confirmations from PayPal, eBay and Amazon about a recent purchase on your credit card. Check your credit card statements first and don’t click on links asking you to “review your purchase” or “review shipping information”.
5. Beware of emails that ask for personal information – Some emails that appear to come from companies you do business with, will ask you to “verify” information such as username, passwords, and credit card numbers. Instead, use the phone number from one of your statements to call; do not call a number listed on the e-mail message.  Your Bank will never ask for personal details by email.

A recent article from EMA indicates that some of the Government’s policies in relation to Economic Activity may be working.  The number of New Zealanders on Unemployment Benefits dropped by 791 last month says Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.   

“There are 13,500 fewer people on Unemployment Benefits since the peak last January and about half of that decrease is made up of young people.”  “We’ve seen 549 fewer 18 – 24 year olds on the Unemployment Benefit over the last month, which is fantastic,” says Ms Bennett.

“There are 54,870 New Zealanders on the Unemployment Benefit and 330,755 people on all benefits.  “Last month 6,700 people cancelled their benefit because they got a job and I congratulate every one of those individuals because I know it’s not easy.”  “But, you won’t find a job unless you’re looking.”

While there are fewer on the Unemployment Benefit, the number of those on the DPB and Sickness Benefits rose in October.  “The Government’s welfare reform package, with more support up-front will reset expectations around working for those on the Sickness and Domestic Purposes Benefits.”

The investment approach will see greater support for those who are capable of work, but are at risk of staying on welfare long-term without some help.