Jobs grow in country’s IT ‘hotspot’

Wellington is leading jobs growth for the first time in six months, with IT workers in hot demand.

Seek New Zealand’s latest data showed the number of new job ads throughout the country was up by 2.4 percent in January, month-on-month.

The capital was leading the rest with a 4.8 percent increase, the online jobs site said.

Growth in Wellington was being driven by a significant surge in demand for IT jobs – up 18 percent.

Seek’s general manager Janet Faulding said Wellington was truly becoming New Zealand’s IT hotspot.

“Wellington we’ve always called steady over the last 12 months. We’ve actually seen, particularly in the IT industry, a resurgence now coming out of that Wellington area, for these IT roles.

“Whether that is a trend that will continue, I guess we need to wait and see.”

Ms Faulding said there was also strong growth in Auckland and Christchurch.

Official figures from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment also showed the number of skilled jobs being advertised online had gone up by 0.7 percent in January.