The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted New Zealand public sector employment throughout the country, a new report has found.
The Infometrics New Zealand survey highlighted the rising importance of public sector jobs in the midst of the global emergency.
It said the Public Service was the industry with the third-largest job increase in 2020, behind health and construction, with 7,630 new roles created.
More than five per cent of New Zealand’s total employment is now within the Public Service, which grew from just under four per cent in 2000.
Senior Economist at Infometrics, Brad Olsen (pictured) said data over the past 20 years had also shown regions outside Wellington benefited from the growth of the Public Service.
“We’ve seen that the public sector needs to expand to support Kiwis, not only in the traditional public headquarters of Wellington City but also across the country,” Mr Olsen said.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) was the Agency with the largest rise in employment, with 1,000 additional workers brought in throughout the year.
Oranga Tamariki had the second-largest rise with 609 jobs, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was third with 500.
Mr Olsen said the pandemic had been an obvious factor in the growth of these Agencies.
“In areas that require front-facing, detailed work for Kiwis really needing a hand, the Government is certainly working to up their capacity,” he said.
On the other end of the scale, the Inland Revenue Department had reduced its staff numbers by 164 due to new IT infrastructure, the report showed.
The Senior Economist said the data revealed that Government Departments and Agencies were now looking towards more regional hubs throughout the country.
“Palmerston North, for example, has gone from having 1.2 per cent of total employment to three per cent over the last 20 years,” he said.
However, Mr Olsen said he believed Wellington would always remain the headquarters for public sector Agencies.
Wellington, 18 February 2021
