Economy analysis

Worker shortages bite hardest in low wage industries

Andy Fyers
Fri, 23 Jul 2021

The hospitality industry is heavily reliant on temporary migrant workers (Image: Deposit Photos)

Andy Fyers
Fri, 23 Jul 2021

Demand for labour has surged in recent months, with online jobs ads up by more than 33% since February.Compared to the same month in 2019, demand for workers is now 50% greater.Once the nationwide lockdown lifted in the middle of 2020, job ads online – as measured by MBIE's Jobs Online Index – slowly returned to pre-pandemic levels.But in the past few months, demand has surged past levels recorded before the pandemic.There were between 20% and 25% more jobs online in March, April and May relative to the same month in 2019 and th...

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Worker shortages bite hardest in low wage industries

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