The Government will need to loosen immigration rules and boost international campaigns to ensure there are enough skilled workers to help rebuild Christchurch, a recruitment firm says.
A survey of employers' hiring intentions by Manpower has found that a net 15% of companies plan to hire more staff in coming months.
Manpower managing director Lincoln Crawley says employment intentions may fall further in coming months as the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake adds to firms' uncertainty.
But in the long run, he says, most sectors will be boosted as the rebuilding begins.
Meanwhile, online job website Seek says the labour market has had a stable start to the year with three months of consecutive growth.
The number of new jobs listed on Seek rose again in February, by nearly 2%. In the Canterbury region, however, the number of new job ads fell by 8.7% after the quake.
Key players 'need to unite'
The head of the Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce says about 100 chief executives from throughout Christchurch met this week to discuss the future of business in the city.
Peter Townsend says it is vital all the key players are united and work together to achieve a favourable outcome.
Restaurant Brands, which owns the KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks chains, says all 19 of its stores in Christchurch are closed. Chief executive Russel Creedy hopes about 10 will be able to reopen next week.
