SEEK NZ Employment Report - October

National Insights:

• Job ads fell for a third consecutive month, down 1%.
• After falling in August, applications per job ad increased again in September, rising 1%.

Region Insights:

• Declines in job ad volumes in Auckland (-2%) and Canterbury (-4%) led the national decline.
• Otago (5%), Wellington (3%) and Waikato (2%) were the largest regions to record job ad rises.

Industry Insights:

• Government & Defence job ads rose for a third month, up 15%.
• Applications per job ad has risen y/y in all industries aside from Farming, Animals & Conservation.

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

Rob Clark, SEEK NZ Country manager says

“The labour market remains challenging as ad volumes continue to decline and the unemployment rate is still climbing.

“While trending downward, the recent declines in job ads have been smaller compared to the preceding 12 months.

“Some regions, including Wellington and Waikato saw job ads rise in October, which is positive given the many months where the larger regions declined.”

National Trends

After rising in July, job ads have now fallen for three consecutive months, dropping 1% in October.

When considering the overall trend in job ad volume, the past four months have remained relatively flat, particularly in comparison to the two years preceding it.

After breaking trend in August and dropping 2%, applications per job ad rose again in September, up 1%, and are still extremely elevated compared to pre-COVID averages.

Region Trends

After rising 6% in September ads declined 4% in Canterbury in October. Auckland also declined 2% and together these two regions drove down national ad volumes for the month.

For only the second time this year, job ads increased in Wellington, up 3% in October. West Coast (8%), Otago (5%), Manawatu (4%), Waikato (2%) also recorded a rise in ad volumes m/m.

Applications per job ad rose m/m in Southland (7%), Hawkes Bay (6%) and Auckland (4%), among other regions.

Industry Trends

Hospitality & Tourism job ads have risen 37% since June, and rose 8% in October, with rising demand for Housekeepers (27% m/m), Wait Staff (10% m/m) and Chefs/ Cooks (9% m/m) among other roles.

Demand for Government & Defence workers has been on the rise since August, and rose another 15%, in October. Banking & Financial Services (18%) and Community Services & Development (7%) were among the other industries with notable growth in demand m/m.

Among the industries to decline m/m were Education & Training (-9%) and Healthcare & Medical (-6%).

Taking a quarterly view, roles within Consumer Services have essentially not changed. This sector includes industries which have recorded increases q/q; Hospitality & Tourism (20%) and Real Estate & Property (7%), but also those that have decreased, including Administration & Office Support (-8% q/q) and Sales (-4% q/q).

Roles within the Industrial sector (-7%) and the Construction sector (-5%) have recorded the greatest decline q/q. Roles within the Public Sector have also not changed q/q.

All industries aside from Farming, Animals & Conservation have recorded a rise in applications per job ad y/y. Those that have attracted the most interest have been Retail & Consumer Products (108%), Communication Services & Development (96%), Call Centre & Customer Service (87%) and Insurance & Superannuation (85%).

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