Wellington
Filled job numbers rose nearly 38,000 in the December month, but annual growth remains below pre-Covid-19 levels, New Zealand’s statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday. There were 2.3 million filled jobs in December 2020, up 1.7 percent from November 2020, Stats NZ said. “However, when compared with the same time last year, jobs were up by only 0.6 percent, an increase of just under 13,000 jobs,” business insights manager Sue Chapman said in a statement. “Before the Covid-19 pandemic, we usually experienced annual increases of between 2 and 4 percent,” Chapman said. Accommodation and food services had the biggest fall in jobs from December last year, down 7,772 jobs, or a 5-percent decrease. The fall was mostly due to a large decrease in accommodation jobs since last year, the manager said.—Xinhua
