SEEK NZ Employment Report July - Job Ads Decrease 4%

NATIONAL INSIGHTS:

• Job ad volumes declined 4% month-on-month (m/m) and are 26% lower year-on-year (y/y).
• Job ads are now just 1% higher than July 2019.
• Applications per job ad rose 11% m/m and are now at the highest level on record*.

REGION INSIGHTS:

• Job ad volumes fell in all regions aside from Hawkes Bay (0%) and West Coast (1%).
• The national decline in job ad volume was driven by Auckland (-4%), Wellington (-5%) and Canterbury (-6%)

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:

• Administration & Office Support (5%), Government & Defence (1%), Sport & Recreation (5%) and Advertising, Arts & Media (3%) recorded an increase in job ads in July. There was a decline in all other industries.
• Applications per job ad grew significantly in many industries, particularly Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics and Community Services & Development, which both rose by 24%.

*Applications per job ad data is recorded with a one-month lag. The data referred to in this report is June data.

NATIONAL INSIGHTS

Job ads fell for a fourth month, dropping 4% in July. Volumes are now 26% down y/y and just 1% higher than July 2019 volumes.
 
Applications per job ad have increased by more than 10% for the past four months, rising 11% in June.
 
Figure 1: National SEEK job ad percentage change m/m July 2022 to July 2023.

Table 2: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing July 2023 to: i) June 2023 (m/m), ii) July 2022 (y/y) and July 2019. 

REGION INSIGHTS
 
Most regions recorded a decline in job ad volumes in July, apart from Hawkes Bay, which recorded no change m/m and West Coast, which rose by 1%.
 
Declines in the largest regions drove the overall decline, with Auckland falling 4%, Wellington down 5% and Canterbury dropping 6%.
 
Job ad volumes remain higher than July 2019 levels in most regions, especially in the smaller regions of Gisborne (133%) and Hawkes Bay (60%). In fact, demand for workers in the smaller regions as a whole have demonstrated significant growth since July 2019, increasing 30%, while metro regions have declined 9%.
 
Applications per job ad rose in all regions, apart from Southland. There was a 17% increase in applications per job ad in Bay of Plenty, 14% in Waikato and 13% Auckland.
 
Figure 2: Region job ad volumes – July 2019 to July 2023
 

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

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
Four industries recorded an increase in job ads in July, including a 5% rise in Administration & Office Support and Sport & Recreation volumes.
 
The overall decline was driven by declines in the large industries of Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (-8%), Information & Communication Technology (-7%) and Trades & Services (-6%).
 
Despite this, there remains high demand for workers in some sectors in comparison to pre-COVID. Notably in the Public (25%) and Industrial Sectors (12%).
 
Applications per job ad increased from the month prior in all but four industries, including Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics and Community Services & Development which both rose by 24%.
 
Table 2: Job ad percentage change by sector (July 2023 vs July 2019)

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

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