MARCH 2017
WESTPAC : McDERMOTT MILLER
EMPLOYMENT CONFIDENCE SURVEY
31 March
2017
MEDIA RELEASE
“Rising
confidence in the New Zealand employment situation recorded over the last year
faltered a little in the March quarter” announced Richard Miller, Managing
Director of strategy and economics consultancy McDermott Miller Limited..
“While
employment optimism generally prevails, a North/South contrast has emerged this
quarter” remarked Miller. “In the North
island the Employment Confidence Index dropped 5.5 points to 108.4, while South
Island employees became more confident, with the Index lifting 5.4 points to
114.6” he noted. “This is a reversal of
past trends,” he observed, “and may reflect contrasting attitudes towards the
‘drought lifting’ in the South Island and a ‘deluge falling’ in the North
Island” conjectured Miller.
“As
usual, employees working in the private sector are more optimistic about the
employment situation in New Zealand than their public sector counterparts”
noted Miller, “with employment confidence indices of 112.6 and 118.6
respectively. This may be a case of ‘the
more one knows about the general situation, the more doubts arise’, or may
simply be that belts are tightening in the public sector” suggested Miller.
ENDS
31 March
2017
Richard Miller, Managing Director
McDermott
Miller Limited
Tel: 04 471 8500
Mobile: 027 451 0158
Index Background
The
Index is based on survey results of a representative sample of 1555 New Zealand
households interviewed during 1-11 March 2017.
It is made up of five component questions: (1) whether people feel that
jobs are plentiful or hard to get now; (2) what job opportunities will be like
in a year's time; (3) whether they are earning more or less now compared to a
year ago; (4) what their earnings will be like in a year's time; and (5) how
secure they feel in their present job. Questions 1 to 5 are used in the
Employment Confidence Index, while questions 1 and 3 are used to calculate a
Current Employment Conditions Index and questions 2, 4 and 5 are used to
calculate an Employment Expectations Index.
The
Index is intended to provide an indication of the level of job security amongst
NZ workers and their wage expectations, and hence an insight into their
willingness to spend. Over time, it is possible the Index may become a leading
indicator for employment growth.
Acknowledgement
The Westpac: McDermott
Miller Consumer Confidence Survey and Index is owned by McDermott Miller
Limited. Westpac : McDermott Miller should be acknowledged as the source when
citing the Index, just as Westpac-Melbourne Institute should be acknowledged
when citing the Australian Index of Consumer Sentiment. Graphs supplied may be
reproduced by the news media provided the Westpac: McDermott Miller logo
remains inset.