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Tertiary education students face an overwhelming prospect of finding stable jobs amid the changing nature of employment due to the pandemic.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
Tertiary education students face an overwhelming prospect of finding stable jobs amid the changing nature of employment due to the pandemic.
A Stats NZ report released today showed that the unemployment rate rose to 5.3 percent in the September 2020 quarter.
With an increase of 1.3 percent, the global pandemic has had a widespread effect on the labor market, leading to the largest quarterly increase on record.
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The unemployment statistics released today are the worst since records began in 1986.
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Almost 10 percent of the 20-24-year-old age group is unemployed, while the figure was 19.5 percent for those 15-19.
Student Job Search CEO Suzanne Boyd said that while the number of job postings had dropped significantly during the shutdown, they were slowly climbing again.
“We had a significant drop between January and February. We had about 2,500 employers advertising jobs with us. It went down to around 200 in April and went back up to around 800 in May,” Boyd said. .
“The good news is that in October of this year, we are at almost 2,500, which is only a fraction below the same month last year. So, the job offers are coming back,” he said.
“It went down again in June, July and August, it took a while to come back, especially in August, but the number of employers listing jobs has risen again.”
Boyd said there was a change in the type of jobs listed.
“The number of permanent jobs for us has increased over the years, but during this time we are finding that employers are much more likely to look for casual rather than permanent workers.
“There is a definite shift from employers moving away from permanent full-time and part-time roles to casual ones while they are unsure.”
AUT student Meoghan Craig, who is in her final year of radio studies, said her field was already small and the impact of Covid-19 meant more uncertainty.
“The probability that I will get a job next year, or anytime from now, will be very, very difficult, if not impossible,” he said.
Stats NZ says there are 37,000 more unemployed during the quarter, the biggest increase since 1986.
AUT student Gabriella Salazar is considering a graduate course if she can’t find a full-time job before graduating next year.
“I feel like I’m just thinking about graduate school because it’s the safest option,” he said.
Salazar currently relies on his part-time office job to stay afloat.
“Right now, I feel like we’re a bit useless and that not many people need us.”
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and republished with permission.
