Job opportunities for communication officers have been growing, but the economic recession means jobs are currently harder to come by.

Recession means fewer communication jobs on offer in the private and public sectors

The current economic recession has slowed down job opportunities for communication officers.

• Businesses are trying to minimise costs by hiring fewer people. This has also created more competition for the communication officer positions that do arise.
• In March 2009, the Government put a cap on the hiring of public relations advisers (which includes communication officers) in the public sector.

Current slow-down in communications jobs may improve once recession ends

Though there are currently fewer job opportunities for communication officers, the overall trend in recent years has been for businesses to employ more communication officers. The number of people working in this job more than doubled between 1996 and 2006.

Number of communication officers in New Zealand
(1996, 2001, 2006)

Census	Number of communication officers
1996	804
2001	2,142
2006	2,196
Source: Department of Labour, Tertiary and Education Indicator Tool.

The number of communication officers has been growing partly because:

• more tertiary institutes are offering communications qualifications
• a more media-savvy public expects better quality information
• more organisations are realising they need to keep the public informed about what they do, and also want to ensure the public gets the right information about their organisation.

Communication officers can work in many different industries although most work for government departments, and organisations that have a high media profile.

Types of organisations communication officers work for include:

• private companies
• charities
• government departments
• specialised public relations consultancies
• advertising agencies
• media outlets.

Communication officers can work in most cities in New Zealand, though most jobs are in Auckland and Wellington.