Employment marketplace SEEK says job ad volumes remained flat in March but ad volumes have risen for the first time quarter-on-quarter in over two years.
In its latest NZ employment report released on Thursday, SEEK says that the quarterly rise of 2%, the first quarter-on-quarter increase since August 2022, indicated a stabilisation of the job ad market.
“This is the first time quarterly ad volumes have risen in over two and a half years, suggesting that ad volumes appear to be stabilising after two years of steady decline,” SEEK Country Manager Rob Clark says.
“There are early signs that economic and labour market growth may be on the horizon, albeit amid a very uncertain global trade and economic backdrop,” he says.
On a yearly basis, job ads have fallen 15% compared to March 2024, which is the lowest annual decline in almost two years.
During the month of March, SEEK’s report found job ad volumes rose in Wellington (up 2%) and Christchurch (up 2%) but edged down in Auckland (falling 1%).
“The smaller regions recorded much of the growth month-on-month, but looking broadly at the entire quarter, most regions are demonstrating positive movement,” Clark says.
The smaller regions that reported the largest growth in job ad volumes were Taranaki (up 14%), Tasman (up 14%) and Marlborough (up 24%). Marlborough and Tasman also reported strong quarterly ad volume growth, up 11% and 5% respectively.
SEEK says that a decline in industrial and consumer services sectors through mostly metro areas had offset month-on-month growth in NZ’s public sector which had led to no change in ad volumes for the month.
Contributing to the decline in consumer services in March were lower job ad volumes in hospitality and tourism (down 9%) and retail (down 10%).
Going in the opposite direction was job ad volumes for healthcare and education, both up 7% respectively in March.
'Extremely competitive'
Applications per job, which SEEK records with a one month lag, also rose in March, up 2% month-on-month. SEEK says this is creating an “extremely competitive market” for job seekers.
Wellington, Marlborough and Tasman were the only areas to record no changes in applications per job volumes in February while all other regions reported an increase.
Otago (up 6%), Manawatu (up 7%) and Waikato (up 8%) were the regions that reported the largest application increases during February.
Industry wise, applications per job rose the most in accounting, (up 4%), sales (up 6%) and retail (up 14%).
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