Immigration to drive growth in New Zealand employment

High numbers of immigrants are expected to drive growth in New Zealand jobs over the next 10 years, a government report said Friday.

Employment was forecast to grow by 1.9 percent annually, which would add an estimated 48,000 workers on average per annum to the workforce over the next 10 years, said the report from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).

"Over the forecast period, strong employment growth is related to an increase in labour supply resulting from higher net migration. Net migration is forecast to remain high in the next two years and is likely to be above the long-term average in the medium to long term," said the report.

The demand for highly-skilled workers would be the strongest over the medium to long term, MBIE labor market trends acting manager Amapola Generosa said in a statement.

"The forecast modelling shows that highly skilled jobs will grow by 2.5 percent, or 27,400, annually until 2025. This growth will strongest for ICT managers, systems analysts and programmers, and marketing professionals," said Generosa.

"The construction and utilities industry is forecast to show the strongest gain in employment and will add around 6,800 workers per year in the 10 years to 2025," she said.

Strong migration-led domestic spending, particularly in the construction and business services industries, would be a strong factor in employment growth over the forecast period.

"In the medium term, strong employment growth is anticipated to be matched by increasing labor supply," she said.

A record 70,600 more migrants arrived in New Zealand than left in 2016, according to government figures out last month.

Migrant arrivals hit an annual record of 127,300 last year, while migrant departures were 56,700. Endit