NZ manufacturing on the decline

New Zealand manufacturing employment is on the decline and an increasing number of people are working irregular or part-time hours, according to a survey by the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association (CMA).

The survey showed that between March 1989 and March 2007, there was a steady trend downwards of 7% in the number of jobs in the manufacturing sector compared to an overall increase of 40 % in the total number of jobs across all sectors.

The number of full-time manufacturing jobs fell by 9.6 % during the same period, compared with an overall rise of 29 %, while part-time work in manufacturing decreased from 6.6 % in 1989 to 4.7 % in 2006.

CMA chief executive John Walley said the decline in manufacturing jobs would continue as long as the currency remained overvalued.

"The employment growth within the wider economy can conceal the loss of manufacturing jobs, but New Zealand runs the risk of eroding, to the point of breakdown, the specialised skill base necessary to support a developed economy," he said.

"As skill levels fall, so too will our levels of productivity."

Productivity has fallen since 2001, largely due to shifts in employment patterns towards lower hourly rates and a more piecemeal structure in employment, he said.

"As these trends continue, we can expect an increasing number of people taking on additional employment, regardless of how seasonal, unstructured, or time-fractured the job might be," said Walley.

The government announced on Tuesday that the importance of the manufacturing industry to the economy was being recognised with the establishment of a high-level, private-public sector advisory group.

Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard said the group would be co-chaired by Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly and Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union national secretary Andrew Little.