The gender divide is alive and well in the automotive industry as well as New Zealand overall employment market, according to the latest TradeMe Jobs quarterly data.
Analysis of job hunter applications across the 65,000 roles advertised in April, May and June showed significant gender splits in several sectors.
In the automotive industry 29% of applicants are female and 71% male, in engineering the figures are 18% and 82%, in IT 19% and 81%, in construction and roading 26% and 74%, in transport and logistics 30% and 70%, and in executive and general management 38% and 62%.
Applications by females versus males in the second quarter of 2016 were as follows: for construction and roading they were 26% and 74% respectively, for the automotive industry 29% and 71%, and for transport and logistics 30% and 70%.
Salaries by gender
The latest TradeMe Jobs data also highlights the relationship between gender and salary bands.
Wade explains the proportion of men applying for roles is higher for every bracket above $40,000, and the proportion of women diminishes as pay rates increase.
IT and engineering roles consistently appear in TradeMe Job’s top 10 highest paid roles each quarter while education and office/administration roles are typically lower paid.
Positive signs for the job market
Outside the gender statistics, Wade says the second quarter of 2016 saw heartening data for job seekers with a 9.3% increase in job listings on the same period last year, and the average salary up 0.5%.
“Between October last year and March this year we saw hot competition from job hunters despite healthy listing numbers. That pressure has eased slightly over the last three months, and with a few exceptions the balance sits firmly in favour of employers.”
Average salary
The average salary for roles listed on TradeMe rose 1.1% this quarter, landing at $61,095. Almost every region saw a lift in average salaries, with only the wider Wellington region down 2.3% to $67,351 and the Bay of Plenty down 2% to $53,748.
Wellington City continues to hold the top spot for average rate of pay at $72,958, more than $1,500 higher than Auckland City.
IT roles continue to dominate the top five highest average pay rate slots, with IT architects in top spot with an average pay rate of $147,340.
Regional roundup
Wade says the much debated “halo effect” around the Auckland property market appears to be having an impact on job listings.
“Regions around Auckland have seen impressive growth in listings, with the Bay of Plenty up 27%, Waikato up 10% and Northland up 21% on a year ago.
“Some employers are choosing to set up shop in regional areas because of the lower cost of operation. It’s not all about Auckland for them; with improved technology and infrastructure they don’t need to be in Auckland to access that market.”
In the South Island, Canterbury’s listings fell 7% led by construction and roading and manufacturing and transport listings dropping (further evidence of the Christchurch rebuild slowing down), while the West Coast and Southland both fell considerably. Otago was one region bucking the trend though with a 31.1% increase in listings.
In the sectors
With the focus on roading, housing and infrastructure around the country, the construction and roading sector has seen a huge 33.4% lift in listings, while trades and services have had an 18.4% jump. There are significant drops for banking, finance and insurance (down 35.5%) and science and technology (down 30.8%).
Listings’ growth by job in the second quarter of 2016 versus the same quarter in the year prior was 19.3% for the automotive industry and 33.4% for construction and roading.
The highest pay for full-time work goes to IT personnel from architects, project managers, data warehousing and business intelligence managers to functional consultants and spans $147,340 to $129,511.
The listings’ growth by region for the second quarter of 2016 versus the same quarter in the year prior sees Auckland at 14.4%, Bay of Plenty at 27.2%. Canterbury at -7%, Gisborne at 39% Hawke’s Bay at 12.7%, Manawatu/Wanganui at 7.2%, Marlborough at 20.3%, Nelson/Tasman at 25.9%. Northland at 21.4%, Otago at 31.1%, Southland at -8.9%, Taranaki at 2.5%, Waitako at 10.1% Wellington at 4.1% and West Coast at -14.7%. The total comes in at 9.3%.
The average pay by region for full-time work in quarter two 2016 sees Wellington the highest paid at $72,958 followed by Auckland at $71,211, Grey (West Coast) at $61,614, and Central Hawke’s Bay at 59,892. The lowest paid are Waimakariri (Canterbury) at $49,956, Kapiti Coast at $50,295, Porirua at $50,675, Waitaki (Otago) at $50,695 and Matamata-Piako (Waikato) at $50,775.
“This isn’t about playing the blame game, and no one person or industry is at fault here. We’re all responsible for ensuring we have workplace equality and diversity,” says Wade.
He concludes that diversity of “thought and experience” is an important part of creating a successful business and workplace culture. “Looking at these numbers we think there are a number of employers missing out on a diverse range of applicants, which in many cases is not a good thing.”
