Press Release – SEEK NZ
Job advertising fell 5% in May and is 30% lower year-on-year. Compared to May 2023, job advertising declined the most in Marlborough (-46%) and Wellington (-42%). Taranaki (3%) and West Coast (39%) were the only regions to record a monthly rise in job advertising.
The construction sector led the monthly decline in jobs advertisements, with Engineering roles dropping 12% month-on-month. Call Centre & Customer Service (2%) and Sales (1%) were among the few industries where advertising volumes increased in May.
Rob Clark, Country Manager SEEK NZ, says:
“It is an incredibly tough labour market at the moment, and SEEK data reflects that, with declining advertising volumes in most regions and in all sectors.
“We know there have been major cuts to the public sector and in May this was mostly felt outside the major metro regions, with a 7% decline in regional public sector roles month-on-month.
“Applications per job ad, which measures competition among candidates for vacant roles, did not grow or decline in April and remain exceptionally high. This is particularly true for roles in Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, Construction and Trades & Services.”
Applications per job ad are now 69% higher than the same time last year.
Most regions recorded a decline in job ads in May. The largest declines in the larger regions include Hawkes Bay (-9%), Waikato (-7%) and Bay of Plenty (-6%).
In May the smaller regions declined to a greater extent than the metro cities, due mainly to the decline in public sector jobs, which fell 7% m/m.
Applications per job ad increased in Auckland (2%) and Wellington (4%) but declined in Canterbury (-4%) and Otago (-9%).
Job ads fell in most industries m/m, but a slowdown in hiring in the Construction sector, including roles within the Engineering (-12%) and Construction industries (-8%) led the decline. Notably, after the announcement in March of a restructure to postal services at NZ Post, ad volumes for these roles fell 18% in May.
Applications per job ad rose to small degrees in most industries but jumped substantially in Hospitality & Tourism (27%). A 9% rise for applications per job ad in Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics roles brought levels to record highs, some 43% higher than levels recorded in 2019.
The data found in this report can be viewed and downloaded here.
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
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