Perks Beyond Pay

Job-seekers looking for perks beyond pay as online job listings rise again

In an article that rings true for a lot of companies looking for employees right now, Priscilla Dickinson discusses that job advertisements are not the only thing on the rise. Job seekers are increasing their expectations around the perks such as flexibility and parking. What would these perks mean for your business? Read on to find out more about what industries and regions are seeing a rise in job listings.

Perks such as flexible hours and location are becoming increasingly sought-after by job-seekers in a market where there's plenty of opportunities, SEEK says. It comes as the number of jobs advertised on SEEK's website rose again in July, showing a record number of vacancies advertised for a fifth consecutive month.

Its latest jobs report shows a 2 percent monthly lift in jobs advertised nationwide. Job ads were up 88 percent compared to July 2020 - up 30 percent on July 2019. SEEK NZ country manager Rob Clark said the results show "plenty of opportunities for jobseekers", especially as applications per job dropped 9 percent month-on-month.

Clark said flexibility is the new buzz-word for job-seekers - based on research conducted on behalf of SEEK in February, it's the most sought-after benefit when looking for a new job. "Nearly two-thirds of Kiwis look for flexible hours, while more than half want flexibility on working location," Clark said. 

Car parks are also favoured by job-seekers, almost half indicating this as something they look for, as well as employers who prioritised development and mentoring. 

Regional increase in jobs advertised online in July

SEEK data shows job ads were up 2 percent month-on-month in Auckland and up 1 percent in Wellington. Canterbury and Northland each showed a 5 percent increase. Taranaki had the biggest monthly increase in jobs at 14 percent, noting this region had proportionally fewer jobs advertised.

Industry sectors offering the most opportunities

According to SEEK, the manufacturing, transport and logistics, information communication and technology and trades and services sectors offer the most opportunities for job-seekers. Across the three sectors, Clark confirms almost 10,000 jobs are up for grabs.

Examples of roles advertised are production manager, operations manager, IT technical support, IT support analyst, application specialist, maintenance support person, service technician and construction labourer.

As an alternative to SEEK, Trade Me Jobs also allows job-seekers to search jobs by sector and location. A Trade Me Jobs report for the June 2021 quarter showed 80,000 job vacancies. The average pay indicated on job listings was $64,939, up 3 percent on the June 2020 quarter. 

Article courtesy of Stuff

  

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