A new poll undertaken by a New Zealand organization has revealed which sectors are floundering in terms of employment in the middle of the current economic crisis.

The Recruitment and Consulting Services Association's quarterly survey has discovered shifts in the skills shortage list since the crisis impacted.

It revealed that business professionals are seeing fewer employment opportunities, as their place on the list sank from fourth to 14th place.

Engineering associates and technicians remained the professionals most in demand while the market for health professionals and nurses underwent little or no change.

On the whole, the survey displayed evidence that the jobs market has returned to the same condition it was in four years ago.

Chief executive of the association Julie Mills commented: "Throughout the last year […] the labor market was stretched so tight that employers were often unable to find the talent they needed: now there appears to be some relief at hand."

In other employment news, a report from Hudson in Australia last week suggested that the economic downturn has not yet significantly hit the country's IT sector.