A survey of small businesses by cloud accounting software firm, Xero, said the number of jobs in small businesses rose 1.4 per cent in October over the year earlier to pre-Covid pandemic levels, apart from in the hospitality sector.
"Looking at the hospitality sector, we saw jobs fall early in the crisis and have remained pretty flat since then, despite revenues improving," Xero managing director for New Zealand & Pacific Islands Craig Hudson said.
Compared to pre-crisis levels, there was positive growth in job figures in Canterbury, as well as Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Northland.
However, Auckland and Queenstown are yet to completely recover the jobs lost during the initial Covid-19 lockdown, with the hospitality sector down 9.7 per cent.
Small business revenue remained relatively flat, falling 0.4 per cent in October.
Most industries recorded positive year-on-year revenue growth, with professional services and hospitality the most negatively affected.
Queenstown remained hardest hit with small business revenues down 13.6 percent.
