Survey shows increase in jobs

Press, 1 June 1984, Page 6

Survey shows increase in jobs

By

OLIVER RIDDELL

in Wellington

An increase in the number of jobs is recorded in the latest quarterly employment survey by the Labour Department for the three months ended February. Total surveyed employment in all sectors increased 1.1 per cent (11,985 jobs) in the year to February, 1984, compared with a 0.8 per cent decrease in the year to February, 1983. There are now 1,117,384 people employed compared with 1,105,399 a year ago.

During the February, 1984, quarter total surveyed employment grew 0.3 per cent (3345 jobs) compared with a decrease of 1.3 per cent (14,338 jobs) during the February, 1983, quarter. This survey covers full-

time and part-time employees as well as working proprietors outside agriculture. During the survey year, the number of full-time employees had increased 0.8 per cent (6516) to 869,043. This included 567,582 males (556,205 a year ago) and 301,461 females (296,322). There were also increases in the number of part-time employees, up 2.1 per cent (3220) to 159,927. This included 33,329 males (32,119) and 126,598 females (124,588). Numbers of working proprietors rose 2.6 per cent (2249) to 88,414. This included 61,194 males (60,130) and 27,220 females (26,035). The 1,117,384 total employed included 662,105 males (658,454) and 455,279 females (446,945).

The February, 1984, quarter had an increase of 1.4 per cent in the number of full-time employees, compared with a 0.7 per cent decrease in the February, 1983, quarter. There had been a decrease of 5.3 per cent in the number of parttime employees in the quarter, compared with a decrease of 5.2 per cent in 1983. Average ordinary time weekly hours worked between February, 1983, and February, 1984, showed no change, staying at 37.2 hours. But average weekly over-time hours increased from 2.0 to 2.4 hours during the year. The survey pay week in February showed average ordinary time weekly earnings before tax at $279.38 for all persons, being $307.38

for males and $234.52 for females. The “all persons” annual increase in average ordinary time weekly earnings was 1.8 per cent for the February year, compared with 8.7 per cent for the 1983 February year. An increase of 1.6 per cent was recorded in the February, 1984, quarter compared with 2.1 per cent for the 1983 February quarter. Labour’s spokesman on employment, Mr Peter Neilson, said the figures showed that the number of full-time jobs had fallen more than 5000 during the last three years. This was in spite of the Government’s 1981 General Election promise that the main projects would create 410,000 jobs this decade.

At February, 1981, there had been 874,306 full-time jobs, but by February, 1984, there had been only 869,043, he said. The latest employment survey underlined the “fraudulent nature” of the electoral claims made by the Government in 1981 about job creation. However, the Acting Minister of Labour, Mr Thomson, said the increase in the last year was “encouraging.” In the two quarters since August, 1983, there had been an increase in total employment of more than 18,000 jobs; during the corresponding six months of 1982-83 there had been a drop of 8354 jobs. Increased overtime was another indicator of economic activity, he said.