Employment Reports

SEEK NZ Employment Report - October 23

November 21, 2023

October 2023 Key Findings

NATIONAL INSIGHTS:

Job ads declined 6% in October and are now 1% lower than October 2019 levels.
After declining in August, applications per job ad increased in September, rising 4% month-on-month (m/m).*

REGION INSIGHTS:

All regions recorded a decline in job ads, aside from Taranaki, where volumes grew 7%.
The largest cities drove the overall decline, namely Auckland (-4%), Wellington (-6%) and Canterbury (-6%).

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:

The largest hiring industries recorded m/m decline in job ads, led by Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics which dropped 7% m/m.
Real Estate & Property was one of the few industries to record growing demand for workers, rising 23%, while job ads in Education & Training.

*Applications per job ad are recorded with a one-month lag. Data shown in this report refers to September data.

Of the October data, Rob Clark, Country Manager SEEK NZ, says:

“Having fallen 6% m/m, job ads are now slightly lower than they were in October 2019. Not all industries have declined in that four-year period, and the major cities of Auckland and Wellington are responsible for the overall drop. Other regions, notably Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu, have increased significantly in that four-year period.

“A rebound in applications per job ad levels, after a drop the month prior, discounts the idea that candidate interest is plateauing. Application levels are again close to a record high, which demonstrates the desire for many workers to make a move ahead of Christmas.

“For hirers, particularly in industries where worker demand remains high, such as Community Services & Development and Hospitality & Tourism, this should mean greater choice and a better chance at filling critical roles before the end of the year.”

NATIONAL INSIGHTS

Job ads fell 6% m/m, the largest decline since December. Now 1% lower than October 2019, this is the first time in over two years these volumes have dropped below their 2019 equivalent.

Not all industries contributed to the overall decline, with some recording significant increases m/m, such as Real Estate & Property (23%) and Education & Training (11%).

Applications per job ad rose 4% after falling the month prior, and are again nearing peak levels, indicating extremely high competition among candidates for the available roles.

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

Table 1: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing October 2023 to: i) September 2023 (m/m), ii) October 2022 (y/y).

REGION INSIGHTS

Taranaki recorded a second month of job ad growth in October, rising 7%, but all other regions declined, with Auckland (-4%), Wellington (-6%) and Canterbury (-6%) the biggest contributors to the drop in ad volumes.

Since they boomed at the start of 2022, most regions have been recording a declining trend in job ad numbers. It is the largest cities, Auckland and Wellington, that have fallen to the greatest degree, with Auckland down 33% and Wellington down 30% y/y. Gisborne is the only region where job ad volume has been trending upwards, up 30% y/y.

Applications per job ad rose in the most populous regions, including by 9% in Wellington and 6% in Auckland.

Figure 2: Major region job ad trends: October 2019 to October 2023 Index: 100 = 2013 avg

Figure 3: National SEEK job ad percentage change by region (October 2023 vs September 2023)

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

The industries that drove the overall decline in job ads in October were Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (-7%), Administration & Office Support (-8%) and Trades & Services (-6%).

Not all industries recorded a fall, with Real Estate & Property (23%) and Education & Training (11%) among the six industries to increase m/m.

In Education & Training, demand for Teaching Aides & Special Needs Educators rose 49% m/m, and Tertiary Teachers increased 35%. In Real Estate & Property, Body Corporate & Facilities Management jobs rose 38%.

When compared to pre-COVID, some industries are recording higher demand for workers, specifically, Community Services & Development (67%) and Education & Training (52%).

Table 2: The top 5 industries for job ad growth October 2023 v October 2019.

Applications per job ad rose in most industries, and of the largest by job ad volume, Administration & Office Support increased 11%, followed by Accounting (10%) and Information & Communication Technology (9%).

Figure 4: National SEEK Job Ad percentage change by industry (October 2023 vs September 2023) – Ordered by job ad volume

MEDIA NOTE: When reporting SEEK NZ data, we request that you attribute SEEK NZ as the source and refer to SEEK NZ as an employment marketplace.

-ENDS-

Disclaimer

The Data should be viewed and regarded as standalone information and should not be aggregated with any other information whether such information has been previously provided by SEEK Limited, ("SEEK"). The Data is given in summary form and whilst care has been taken in its preparation, SEEK makes no representations whatsoever about its completeness or accuracy. SEEK expressly bears no responsibility or liability for any reliance placed by you on the Data, or from the use of the Data by you. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately.

About SEEK NZ

SEEK has been helping New Zealanders live more fulfilling and productive working lives since 1999.

SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprised of a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. As a market leader in online employment marketplaces that span ten countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America, SEEK makes a positive contribution to people’s lives on a global scale.

About the SEEK New Zealand Employment Report

The SEEK Employment Report provides a comprehensive overview of the New Zealand employment marketplace. The report includes the SEEK New Job Ad Index, which measures only new job ads posted within the reported month to provide a clean measure of demand for labour across all classifications. SEEK’s total job ad volume (not disclosed in this report) includes duplicated job advertisements and refreshed job ads. As a result, the SEEK New Job Ad Index does not always match the movement in SEEK’s total job ad volume.