Did You Know?

There are around 12,000 businesses in the Nelson-Tasman region.

53% are Tasman based and 47% in Nelson.  However Nelson accounts for 57 % of the 41,100 FTEs (Full Time Equivalent) jobs in the region.

The distribution of employment by industry is somewhat different to its distribution of firms.

Total FTEs fell in Nelson by 405 last year, with a 281 FTE increase in manufacturing being overshadowed by falls of 490 FTEs in health care and social assistance, and 200 FTEs in the construction industry.

Total FTEs also fell in Tasman by 374, with again a 139 FTE increase in manufacturing, and a 240 FTEs increase in health care and social assistance being outweighed by a decrease of 690 FTEs in the agriculture industry.

Although there are over 2,000 small businesses in the region with between one and five employees, they employ just over 6,000 people. Approximately 400 employers who employ over 20 staff each make up less than 1% of businesses but provide employment for 57 % of the workforce.

There has actually been a good recovery in employment in the Nelson-Tasman region, increasing from a recent low of 66,200 in December 2010, to 66,800 in December 2012. However, there has been a drop-off since the high of 67,200 in March 2012.

In December 2012, the Nelson-Tasman region had 948 unemployed, up from the previous quarter but less than a year earlier, where there were 1,093 registered unemployed.

The Nelson-Tasman region has a smaller proportion of its population unemployed compared to similar regions.