New Zealand isn't the only country facing cost of living pressures, the Prime Minister says after a recruiter claimed it is putting international job seekers off.
Aotearoa is dealing with severe staffing shortages across several industries with the latest figures showing the unemployment rate is just 3.3 percent.
And New Zealand isn't alone with many countries around the world looking for workers. The competitive international market is making it difficult for employers to lure foreign workers over, according to a recruiter.
Managing director of The Success Group Graham Rodgers told AM on Monday international workers are being put off because of Aotearoa's crime rate, high cost of living and visa delays.
Rodgers said at two recent job fairs in the United Kingdom he struggled to attract workers despite talking to more than 300 people.
"I would have spoken to probably 200 to 300 people. I went to two different job fairs and people came away or came to me with the feedback that for four reasons in general, New Zealand is not the choice of destination anymore," Rodgers told AM.
Instead Canada, Australia and Europe are at the top of the list, he said, adding they are rolling out the welcome mat to foreigners.
"One of the reasons that other countries are becoming a little bit more attractive is the speed of our visa processing and just the fact the welcome mat is being laid out for those to come in in the first place.
"But when you think about it, New Zealand, we've got the I think it's the third highest minimum hourly rate. We're number 10 for quality of life in the world. I think we're 12 to 13 for standard of living. We're a great place to come to.
"But..the impression people get from the news media and press when they're looking at New Zealand is the cost of living is far too high, the crime statistics make it too dangerous to live here and the
housing, if you can get any, is too unaffordable.
But Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hit back at suggestions New Zealand was no longer attractive to international workers.
Speaking with AM on Monday Ardern said while we are facing increasing living costs driven by high inflation, so are many other countries.
"I can't speak to what an individual recruiter has experienced but they themselves acknowledge that some people's perceptions are wrong when you look at, for instance, cost of living issues… globally New Zealand actually has had lower inflationary impacts than many of those other countries.
"In terms of visa processing times, they are now well down. And of course, you know, the best reflection of that is the fact that we have 17,000 people now who have work visas and are able to come into the country. We've had 12,000 people with working holiday visas come into the country. And we have in terms of employers going out there and seeking workers, roughly 70,000 who have those approvals then to bring in workers to fill the jobs," she said.
Ardern said while New Zealand has "absolutely" experienced increases in inflation so too has the UK as well as many other countries.
And the Prime Minister isn't wrong - New Zealand is far from the only country facing high inflation. In the United Kingdom, the Consumer Price Index rose by a whopping 8.8 percent in the 12 months to September 2022.
Australia meanwhile saw CPI jump 7.3 percent over the same time period and Canada saw an increase of 6.9 percent. This compares to New Zealand where CPI rose 7.2 percent over the same period.
A perception of New Zealand being an unsafe place is also questionable with the 2022 Global Peace report ranking Aotearoa as the second most peaceful country in the world behind Iceland. Canada meanwhile came 12th followed by Australia at number 27 and The United Kingdom at 34.
