Large number of open vacancies are hurting New Zealand businesses.

Skills Shortages and the Cost of Vacancy (COV)

The reality of skills shortages is a hotly debated and politicised topic in New Zealand.

The 2022 NZ Staff Turnover and Employment Survey canvassed organisations on the impacts of current skills shortages.

In 2022, 72% of businesses reported they had positions that they were unable to fill. This was an increase from 64% in 2021.

 

Is there an acceptable time for a vacancy to be open?

Open positions come with a substantial financial impact for your organisation.

Vacancy, no matter how you spin it, impacts the expenses of your business, including:

• Overtime to cover the responsibilities of the open position.
• Loss of revenue due to insufficient personnel
• Time spent recruiting, marketing, and hiring.
• Possible use of temporary staffing services or contractors
• Time spent training the new hire.

How long were vacancies open in New Zealand in 2022?

The shocking reality of the skills shortage in New Zealand is shown in the time that vacancies have remained open.

Of the 72% of businesses with vacancies, 62% of those had vacancies open for more than 6 months with 21.5% with vacancies open for greater than 12 months.

 

The spread of vacancies across disciplines

Accounting and Finance, IT, and Leadership vacancies showed an increase through 2022, however, of the 72% of businesses with open vacancies these were spread across all disciplines and 62% of businesses had vacancies that were open for longer than 6 months in 2022.

21.5% had vacancies open for longer than 12 months.