SEEK NZ Employment Report - applications per job ad continue to rise

Rob Clark, SEEK NZ Country Manager says:

“We are continuing to see small increases in job ad levels, with a 1% rise last month. Demand for workers in Sales, Retail & Consumer Products and Education & Training was particularly high in March. There are plenty of jobs available and workers are increasingly acting on those opportunities.

“More industries than not recorded increased applications per ad, particularly for roles in Trades & Services and ICT. On the whole, applications per job ad are rising faster than job ads and levels are 42% higher than where they were pre-pandemic.

“The largest regions all recorded increased demand for workers, and following Cyclone Gabrielle, Hawkes Bay returned with a vengeance, with job ads rising above January levels.”

^{_{* Applications per job ad are reported with a one-month lag. Applications per job ad data referenced in this report refers to February data.}}

NATIONAL INSIGHTS

Job ads rose by 1% for a second consecutive month. While levels are lower year-on-year in comparison to the record levels of 2022, they are 19% higher than March 2019.

Applications per job ad rose 4% in February. They have now risen 61% since June last year. As job ads also rose during February, this rise indicates a true uplift in candidate activity despite more opportunities available to dilute the market.  

Figure 1: National SEEK job ad percentage change m/m March 2022 to March 2023.

Table 2: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing March 2023 to: i) February 2023 (m/m) and ii) March 2022 (y/y). 

REGION INSIGHTS

Job ads rose m/m in the larger regions, led by Auckland (3%), Wellington (1%) and Canterbury (2%). Demand for workers in Hawkes Bay also returned in earnest, rising 23% m/m after the devastating impact of Cyclone Gabrielle the month prior.

Job ads fell in five regions, the largest region being Otago, which dropped 3% though volumes are 6% higher y/y.   All regions remain elevated compared to March 2019 volumes.

Applications per job ad picked up in the larger regions, rising 8% in Wellington, 7% in Otago and 6% in Auckland.

Figure 2: Major region job ad volumes – March 2020 to March 2023

Figure 3: National SEEK job ad percentage change by region (March 2023 vs March 2023).

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Rises in job ads in Sales, Retail & Consumer Products and Education & Training drove the overall uplift from an industry perspective in March. Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics job ads, which have remained relatively steady since December, rose by 1%, while job ads in Trades & Services, Information & Communication Technology and Hospitality &Tourism fell by 1%.

Relatively large monthly jumps in applications per job ad were recorded in Trades & Services roles, which grew 13%, Information & Communication Technology roles, which was up 11% and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics which rose 8%, indicating rising interest from candidates in these high-volume industries.

Figure 4: National SEEK job ad percentage change by industry (March 2023 vs March 2023) – Ordered by job ad volume

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