New Zealand Town Has Too Many Jobs, So It's Enticing People to Move There

“We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people.”

A small town in New Zealand has a big problem: They have too many job openings, and not enough people to fill them.

Kaitangata, near the coast of South Otago, New Zealand, has launched a recruitment campaign to entice people to come to their town of 800 residents.

There are more than 1,000 vacant jobs, according to mayor Bryan Cadogan, many in dairy processing plants and freezing works. “We have got youth unemployment down to two,” said Cadogan. “Not 2 percent — just two unemployed young people.”

Kai, as it is known to locals, is so eager to welcome visitors that the town is offering housing and land packages for sale for about NZ$230,000 (about US$160,000).

The local bank, lawyers, and community services are on standby to help interested parties with relocation.

“This is an old-fashioned community, we don’t lock our houses, we let kids run free,” Cadogan told The Guardian. “We have jobs, we have houses, but we don’t have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, we are waiting with open arms.”

Editor's note: This article has been corrected with updated information that the land packages are for sale, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, and not for free.         

Original Source

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New Zealand town: We have lots of jobs and housing, but we won't pay to move

 One town in New Zealand is suffering from a problem other places around the world would love to have: Too many jobs with too few workers. For anyone looking to apply, just don't expect them to foot the bill for the move.

Kaitangata—a New Zealand town with a population of only 800—has hundreds of vacant job positions in its agriculture sector, and it's dying to fill them. In a further embarrassment of riches, the town has an ample stock of affordable housing to go along with its full employment.

However, the town on Saturday denied a spate of reports suggesting Kaitangata would offer sizable incentive packages to fill open jobs. The San Francisco Gate reported that Mayor Bryan Cadogan and the town's professionals collaborated to come up with a package worth NZ$230,000 (more than $160,000) for job seekers to relocate.

"There is currently a story that has been published by overseas media that we are paying people $160,000 to move to Kaitangata and people should ring the Mayor about it. This is NOT TRUE," a statement on the town's website read.

As one might expect in a global economy suffering from stagnant middle class wages, the mayor's office was deluged with calls from around the globe responding to the initial reports of a fat check awaiting those who wished to relocate.
No such luck, as it turns out.

"People are not being paid to move to Kaitangata and you should not contact the Mayor about it," the statement on Saturday read.

Still, the mayor touted the town's relatively cheap housing. He also suggested interested applicants comply with New Zealand's applicable immigration laws, and check in with the town's economic agency for job openings.

"If you do meet the (immigration) criteria and you'd like to know more about the affordable House and Land packages ON SALE in Kaitangata, you need to visit" the city's website to check out the openings, the statement added.

Source: New Zealand Small Town Vacancy

Kaitangata offers fresh take on immigration & employment

New Zealand, Kaitangata – It is common to research employment statistics of a particular region and be shocked at the disproportion between the economic active population and the number of jobs available. Such data is even more alarming about the amount of youth struggling to find jobs, even with a higher education diploma or degree.

However, New Zealand’s town of Kaitangata may offer a deal tough to beat. According to a report conducted by the International Labour Organization(ILO) posted in The Independent UK in October last year, the average global unemployment rate has yet to recover from the economic crisis that shook millions all over the world.

As if job openings were not sufficient enough, Kaitangata offers a rather warm landscape to its habitants. On the other hand, most of New Zealand is fairly cold in comparison to the town with an astounding 800 people population. Image Credit: The Sun

Average global unemployment still abounding

The findings demonstrated that while enrolment into educational institutions has increased, the number of youth participating in the labor force has declined by 11.6% between the years 1991 and 2014. Also, the number of youth facing long-term unemployment has increased in many European countries such as France, Greece and Slovakia, but has seen a slight decline between 2012 and 2014.

Also, the number of youth facing long-term unemployment has increased in many European countries such as France, Greece and Slovakia, but has seen a slight decline between 2012 and 2014.

It is true that there are many factors to take into consideration when calculating such statistics, one of which is the population of the nation or region at hand. If a given population is relatively small, then the statistics will also be of that nature. That does not mean to say that employment is not difficult to find among the people of that area, but because the population is so small, the percentage of individuals unable to participate in the labor market will subsequently reflect that number.

Following this point, when the number of people in a given city or region is constantly increasing because of phenomena such as urbanization, if the number of jobs available on the labor market does not increase, then heightened unemployment is to be expected.

This relates to the New Zealand town of Kaitangata, who has a population of 800 citizens and an array of vacant jobs just waiting to be occupied. The mayor of the Clutha District home of the small town, Bryan Cadogan, reported having been making various attempts for years to increase the town’s population and occupy the 1000 jobs available for the taking.

Kaitangata offers house-and-land packages to populate town

Some of the strategies the Mayor attempted to motivate people to relocate to Kaitangata were speed-dating and job fairs. Although these attempts may have been creative, they still did not witness a significant rise in the town’s population.

One incentive that seems to have captured the attention of thousands in the nation and across the world is a prospectus developed by local activists offering a house-and-land package in the town for 230,000 NZD, nearly $164,000.

Since then, Cadogan has been bombarded with over 5000 responses from numerous people on an international scale interested in the proposition. According to Reuters, the Mayor stated: “We have been getting smashed. It has perked the spirits of the locals up hugely, we do not know how to deal with this, we are unprepared”. A considerable amount of interest has been shown from people residing in Syria, United States and Poland.

In a town whose unemployment rate is 2, not percent but two individuals, it is no wonder that many people would be so eager to inhabit it. Image Credit: The Independent

In a town whose unemployment rate is 2, not percent but two individuals, it is no wonder that many people would be so eager to inhabit it. Contributing to the prospectus is the third generation dairy farmer, Evan Dick, collaborating with lawyers, community services, and local banks are eager to collect as many potential employees as possible. The town is especially focusing on occupying jobs in more agricultural-related sectors, like dairy processing and freezing works.

One of the temporary solutions found as visa applicants are frantically organizing their documents, is bussing workers from Dunedin, a town an hour away, to boost the town’s economy.

Evan reported to The Guardian, “We have jobs, we have houses, but we do not have people. We want to make this town vibrant again, and we are waiting with open arms”.

New Zealand’s average national unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2016 had settled at 5.7%, having increased by 0.4% since the previous quarter. Thus, Mayor Cadogan is hoping that many people from ‘big cities’ who may be struggling to find jobs and make ends meet will relocate to the small town where such matters are not even a slight issue.

Interesting does not even begin to describe this prospectus, where the city of Kaitangata finds itself bidding some of its lands to anyone eligible to live and work in the country as a strategy to increase its population density, and by so doing economy. Land claims, ownership, and rights can be a very sensitive topic, just ask South Africa.

It can mean the difference between living in informal settlements intentionally designed to keep a particular group of people distant from quality public services and those who were unjustly granted the opportunity to reside in the hubs of easy access.

Fortunately, this is not the case for the South Otago town, who will be seeing their economy flourish at the hands of the diverse individuals soon to inhabit the area.

Finally, a different perspective on immigration is buzzing all over social media.

Source: RT

Tiny NZ town swamped with bids from all over world after sending out call for new residents

© David Gray / Reuters

The mayor of a New Zealand town failing to deal with low unemployment and affordable housing has cried out for help, inviting newcomers from other cities and abroad. Thankfully, his plea has been answered by thousands worried about the town’s plight.

The mayor of the South Otago town of Kaitangata, located 10 kilometers from the city of Balclutha, received more than 5,000 messages by phone, email, and social media from people all over the world interested in starting a new life in his city, which promises an attractive range of perks, local media reported.

The town’s population of only 800 people has long been struggling to fill job openings and find owners for the good quality houses built in the area that currently stand vacant.

The proposal was explicitly outlined in a prospectus, drawn up by local activists in a bid to increase the town’s population density. Consequently, thousands of people from all over the world are apparently packing up and getting ready to go.

“When I was unemployed and had a family to feed, the Clutha gave me a chance, and now we want to offer that opportunity to other Kiwi families who might be struggling,” Bryan Cadogan, mayor of the Clutha district that includes Kaitangata, told the Guardian.

The offer applies to non-Kiwi citizens as well, providing that they are eligible for a visa.

A house and plot of land in the town are available for 230,000 NZD (nearly $164,000), according to the prospectus.

People from Syria, Poland, the US, and Britain have demonstrated especially high interest in the offer.

“We’ve been getting smashed. It has perked the spirits of the locals up hugely, we don’t know how to deal with this, we’re unprepared,” the mayor said.

Third-generation dairy farmer Evan Dick, who is taking part in the initiative, has been “overwhelmed” by the scope of interest.

“It’s gone nuts. A mother and her two children just flew in. I took them to their section and the look on her face was magical. ‘Is this all ours?’ I can already see positivity and vibrancy flowing through the town. Who would have thought Kaitangata would ever be on the world map?” Dick said, according to the Guardian.

The Kaitangata Promotions group, which stands behind the project, consists of local residents trying to develop their town. They are planning to hold a meeting with community groups and businesses to decide on the campaign’s next steps on Monday, July 4.