New Zealand - Employment Confidence

April 7 2005 - The Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index (a quarterly sample of 1500 representative New Zealand Households) indicates reduced Employment Confidence.

With an index rating of over 100 indicating positive feelings, and an index rating of under 100 indicating a negative mood, the actual index for the 1st Quarter of 2005 decreased from 133.8 (December) to 131.3 (March). This is a substantial reversal of the previous quarter's results but still represents the second highest confidence rating since the survey began. The Employment Confidence Index is based on the following questions:

1. Whether people feel that jobs are plentiful or hard to get right 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

5. How secure they feel in their present job

Questions 1 and 3 also provide data for the Current Employment Conditions Index and questions 2, 4 and 5 form the basis for an Employment Expectations Index. There was a further increase in the former as employees rated current employment conditions as favourable. 67% said jobs were plentiful in the March quarter compared with 66% in December, while people claiming jobs were hard to get fell from 13% in December to 12% in March. Similarly, 36.2% said they earned more this year than last, compared with 40.2% in December.

45.9% - compared to 41% in December - expect their incomes to improve in the coming year.