The latest SEEK NZ Employment Report shows job ads fell 2% in May after two consecutive months of growth.
Compared to the same time last year, job ads are now down 8%—the slowest annual decline since November 2022.
“The comfort we can take is that we were seeing quite steady declines, and now we’re seeing a period of some stable results. What most people are looking for are some signs of an improvement, but we’re not really seeing any signs of that at the moment,” SEEK Country Manager Rob Clark said.
Meanwhile, applications per job ad have reached a new peak, increasing by 2% month on month. This means there could be a high level of competition among candidates for the available positions.
In terms of industries, Healthcare & Medical and Community Services & Development industries saw the most notable increases in job advertisements, rising by 3% and 2% month-on-month, respectively.
Region-wise, three areas saw monthly job ad increases in May: Taranaki by 6%, Wellington by 2%, and Southland by 1%.
Wellington was the only one to experience year-on-year growth in job ads, rising 2%, marking its first annual increase in two and a half years.
“The trend data tells a clear picture, and that is one of flat ad volumes for the past eight months. After close to two years of near uninterrupted decline between 2022 and 2024, this shows that volumes have stabilised and are even beginning to see some pockets of growth,” Clark noted.
“Wellington, which was particularly impacted by falling demand toward the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, has recorded broad growth in ad volumes over the past eleven months. It was one of only three regions where job ads rose month-on-month, along with Southland and Taranaki.”
“While the decline in demand for workers has slowed, candidate appetite has not abated in the same way, rising to the highest on record again this month.”