Wellington Leads Country in New Jobs

Wellington Leads Country in New Jobs

As the rest of the country experienced a pause in new job growth in May, Wellington bucked the trend with an encouraging 3.6% increase in the number of new jobs, revealed by the latest figures from seek.co.nz.

The SEEK ‘New Job Ad Index’ measures the flow of new jobs each month and results for May show Wellington was the standout performer, with an increase of the number of new jobs advertised on New Zealand’s largest job source.

“Of the three major urban markets Wellington jobs have had a strong influence on new job growth over the last five months and May is no exception. Auckland’s job ads were down 2.3% and Christchurch recorded a fall of 4.8%, which makes Wellington’s positive growth of 3.6% even more significant,” says Annemarie Duff, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand.

“The pause in growth is not likely to be a turning point in job ads, but more likely to be a monthly fluctuation. New Zealand’s recovery remains fragile but we have been making steady progress since the beginning of the year and I believe this will continue in coming months.”

Also released today are the monthly results for the SEEK Employment Index (SEI), the ratio of new job ads placed on seek.co.nz during the month to the number of applications for those jobs. The SEI decreased by 4.8% last month, a direct result of the increase in applications for each new job advertised.

“We have seen applications for jobs advertised on seek.co.nz increase by 8% over the last two months. We believe this is the result of increased awareness in the number of new job opportunities that have been advertised in recent months, and action by those restless workers,” says Ms Duff.

“Our research has shown that 7 out of 10 employees are looking for a new challenge this year and they’re on SEEK looking for that next opportunity.”

Job Applications

May’s top five most competitive occupations:

1. I.T & T – Help Desk and Support
2. Call Centre/Customer Service – Call Centre Operator
3. Retail & Consumer Products – Retail Sales Assistant
4. Administration – Reception
5. Accounting – Accounts Clerk/Administration

I.T Help Desk and Support roles remain the most competitive occupation, for the second consecutive month receiving the most applications per job ad. Call Centre Operators, Retail Sales Assistant and reception roles are also highly sought after and competitive.

May’s top five most sought after employees:

1. Education & Training – University
2. I.T & T – Architect
3. Government/Defence – Government Federal
4. Legal – Solicitor
5. Healthcare & Medical – Nursing and Midwives

Those who work in education and training at University level are the most sought after employees this month, with these roles receiving the least applications per advertisement. Nurses and midwives unsurprisingly complete the list, having featured in the top five most months since October last year.

ENDS

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