The latest quarterly Queenstown-Lakes’ labour market snapshot report, commissioned by Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), points towards a challenging summer for employers.

Economist and report author Benje Patterson said while the district survived the winter, labour market shortages look like they will only be exacerbated by the summer season.

“The hospitality and accommodation sector alone would need to expand its headcount by 1,500 workers just to return to its pre-Covid summer level,” Benje said. 

“Businesses would be wise, wherever possible, to invest in systems and technological solutions to help them be able to maintain their yield with a leaner workforce.”

Report data shows a 330.4 percent increase in local job ads listed on Jobfix from September 2021 to September 2022. 

QLDC economic development manager Peter Harris said while visitors are returning, they have less choice over what to do here because businesses are not able to offer their normal levels of service.

Worker availability for the same period is down 36.8 percent for those on employer-assisted visas, and -52 percent for those classified as ‘job-seekers’ in the district.

This is despite an overall 3.6 percent increase in filled jobs in the district over the past year. 

The increase masks a drop of 1,043 jobs in accommodation and food service employment in September 2022 versus September 2019. Jobs grew predominantly in construction (up 582) and professional services (304), followed by recreational services (211 jobs), manufacturing (191), and health (190 jobs).

QLDC economic development manager Peter Harris said the report underscores the breadth of the workforce challenges across all sectors, and the growing need for change to achieve greater stability for businesses in the district.

“While it’s encouraging to see early signs of diversification in job growth outside of the hospitality industry, there’s a long way to go.”

Businesses are losing income from not being able to offer their normal levels of service and visitors therefore have less choice about what they can do here, Peter said.

“By adding data to the issue the QLDC economic development team hopes it helps business and government leaders understand the scale of the challenge and prompts decisions that help relieve the pressure.”

The full report is available on QLDC’s website.

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