The number of places available to migrants under the New Zealand Residence Programme (NZRP) is reviewed by Cabinet each year. During the 2008/09 financial year the NZRP will be set at 45,000-50,000 places – the same level as last year.

Some 60% of the places available within the NZRP will be filled by skilled and business migrants, 30% will be used to reunite families applying through family categories and 10% will be used for humanitarian purposes and international commitments.

The number of places decided by the Government balances the needs of the labour market, New Zealand’s ability to accept new migrants, and our international obligations.

The NZRP makes an important contribution to the skills New Zealand has in its workforce, leading to the growth of the economy. The programme is set in a way that is complementary to New Zealand’s temporary immigration policies and wider training and productivity initiatives.

Quotable Value has released May’s figures for the New Zealand’s housing market. The average sale price of a house in New Zealand has decreased slightly to $387,299 (£150,700) from April’s $388,465 (£151,154). Property values have increased 2.4% over the calander year. New Zealand’s average house prices are not directly comparable with the UK’s because, unlike the UK, the average home in New Zealand is a detached bungalow.

QV spokesperson Mark Dow said:

While most areas are still holding their value from a year ago, some areas are beginning to report small declines. Whether properties are holding their value or being sold beneath previous expectations is being influenced by how much pressure the owner feels to sell. There are increasing reports that where sellers aren’t under financial pressure or needing to relocate, they are choosing to take their properties off the market or rent them out rather than accept lower offer.

House Prices in New Zealand
Three Months Ending May 2008

* Assumed exchange rate is £1 = NZ$2.57

Research commissioned by the Department of Labour has found an association between New Zealanders returning home and local house price increases between 1986 and 2006, but not with new immigrants. The report “Housing Markets and Migration: Evidence from New Zealand” found that while population growth and house prices increased together over the period, there was no evidence to suggest that the arrival of new immigrants had had an impact on local house prices.

It was unclear what was driving the association between returning New Zealanders and house prices, and whether returning New Zealanders had in fact been one of the causes of rising house prices or had more simply moved home to areas that tended to have higher than average price increases.

The research findings indicate that both the flow of migrants - new immigrants and returning New Zealanders - and house prices are affected similarly by other common factors, which could include a strong economy, high income and employment expectations.

Overall, the research found a positive link between population growth and house prices. For example, a one percent increase in an area’s population was associated with a 0.2 to 0.5 percent increase in house prices. The impact on rents was found to be lower.

The report found that recent migrants were more likely to rent homes than the New Zealand-born population, but that longer-term, rent/ownership levels were similar to the New Zealand-born population.

It also found that the capacity of the building industry appeared to be adequate to meet the level of housing demand to 2016, even under a high immigration scenario. Conditions had to be met such as the type of accommodation built needed to change to meet changed demand; there would be a growing demand for private rental market dwellings; and that the proportion of people living in flats or apartments was likely to increase.

The research, carried out by BERL on behalf of the Centre for Housing Research Aotearoa New Zealand (CHRANZ) and the Department of Labour, explored the links between immigration and housing demand and supply. Using census data for 1991, 1996 and 2006 it investigated the past housing behaviours of five types of households: migrant couples, New Zealand-born and migrant couple, New Zealand-born couple, single migrant and New Zealand-born single. Migrant households were further classified as ‘recent’ (fewer than five years), ‘intermediate’ (5-15 years) or ‘earlier’ (15+ years).

Manpower Inc. has released the results of its third annual talent shortage survey, revealing that 31 percent of employers across the globe are finding it more difficult to fill jobs. “This year, the most significant finding is that the percentage of employers in the Americas having trouble filling positions has dropped more than half compared to last year,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, CEO of Manpower Inc. “This dramatic decrease is a reflection of the recent downturn in the U.S. economy. However, the talent crunch is still a very real concern.”

The top ten workers most in-demand by country are:

United States

1. Engineers
2. Machinists/Machine Operators
3. Skilled Manual Trades (primarily welders or carpenters/joiners)
4. Technicians
5. Sales Representatives
6. Accounting & Finance Staff
7. Mechanics
8. Labourers
9. IT Staff
10. Production Operators

The percentage of employers surveyed in the USA indicating that they are having difficulty filling positions was down from 41% in 2007 to 22% this year.

Canada

1. Skilled Manual Trades (primarily carpenters/jointers, welders or electricians)
2. Sales Representatives
3. Engineers
4. Accounting & Finance Staff
5. Labourers
6. Nurses
7. Teachers
8. Drivers
9. Machinists/Machine Operators
10. Secretaries, PAs, Administrative Assistants & Office Support Staff

The percentage of employers surveyed in Canada indicating that they are having difficulty filling positions was down from 36% in 2007 to 31% this year.

Australia

1. Skilled Manual Trades (primarily electricians, carpenters/joiners, or welders)
2. Engineers
3. Sales Representatives
4. Accounting & Finance Staff
5. Drivers
6. Technicians
7. Labourers
8. Secretaries, PAs, Administrative Assistants & Office Support Staff
9. Mechanics
10. Management/Executives

The percentage of employers surveyed in Australia indicating that they are having difficulty filling positions was down from 61% in 2007 to 52% this year

New Zealand

1. Sales Representatives
2. Skilled Manual Trades (primarily carpenters/joiners or electricians)
3. Engineers
4. Accounting & Finance Staff
5. IT Staff
6. Labourers
7. Technicians
8. Secretaries, PAs, Administrative Assistants & Office Support Staff
9. Management/Executives
10. Production Operators

The percentage of employers surveyed in New Zealand indicating that they are having difficulty filling positions was down from 62% in 2007 to 47% this year

Spain

1. Technicians
2. Skilled Manual Trades (primarily electricians, masons, welders or bricklayers)
3. Management/Executives
4. Accounting & Finance Staff
5. Production Operators
6. Labourers
7. Drivers
8. Secretaries, PAs, Administrative Assistants & Office Support Staff
9. Mechanics
10. Engineers

The percentage of employers surveyed in Spain indicating that they are having difficulty filling positions was down from 33% in 2007 to 27% this year

The relaxed pace of life or lifestyle had been identified as the most common reason for permanent migrants to choose New Zealand as their new home, Statistics New Zealand said today. The results suggest that the most common reasons to choose New Zealand are lifestyle (at 44 percent), the climate or clean, green environment (40 percent) and the desire to provide a better future for their children (39 percent).

Six months after gaining permanent residence, 93 percent of migrants indicated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with life in New Zealand. Nearly the same percentage (92 percent) reported that they plan to stay in New Zealand for three years or more while 5 percent were not sure at that point in time.

Most migrants (86 percent) had spent time in New Zealand prior to gaining permanent residence and over half (55 percent) had been employed in New Zealand before. At the time of the interview, 95 percent of skilled principal migrants were in the labour force. Two percent of skilled principal migrants in the labour force were seeking work. For those who reported difficulties in finding employment the most commonly reported obstacle was lack of New Zealand work experience. Most migrants however, reported that they did not experience difficulties in finding work.

Permanent migrants generally had a high level of English language ability (87 percent), either reporting English as the language they speak best or having good or very good English language skills.