A Glimmer Of Hope For New Zealand’s Job Market

The job market remains challenging and competitive but new data from Trade Me Jobs suggests it may have turned a corner.

The number of job applications was up +34.8 per cent in the July through September quarter compared to the same time last year, while listings were down -38.7 per cent year-on-year.

“There’s no doubt the labour market and economy overall is making it tough for jobseekers who are finding themselves competing with more people for fewer roles,” says Trade Me Jobs Sales Director Matt Tolich.

“However, if we compare this most recent quarter to April through June where listings were down across all regions and industries it’s a brighter picture with some green shoots able to be seen in the data.”

Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry saw listing growth of +10.3 per cent in the recent quarter with Government and Council (+5.6%) and Hospitality and Tourism (+2.6%) also showing positive momentum.

“Within Hospitality and Tourism, there’s two sub-industries that have driven this growth: kitchen staff (+8.6%) and chefs (+4.3%). In Agriculture, all sub-industries have seen growth: Farming (+2%), Fishing (+18.5%), Forestry (+16.5%) and Horticulture (+8.8%).

“These numbers are meaningful as we didn’t see this growth last year so it can’t be attributed to seasonal or cyclical growth. Rather, it tends to suggest we are in the early stages of a recovery for these sectors,” says Mr Tolich.

Engineering (+0.5%), Retail (-0.1%) and Transport and Logistics (-0.8%) roles were relatively stable while the biggest falls in listings in the July-September quarter were in Property (-41%), Marketing, Media and Communications (-25.3%), Sales (-22.9%), Banking, Finance and Insurance (-22.9%) and Education (-18.4%).

Regional Aotearoa: Swings and roundabouts

Despite seeing a nationwide quarter-on-quarter decrease (-6.4%) in listings, six of the 15 regions Trade Me Jobs monitors showed positive growth in the number of jobs listed on site.

The West Coast led the way in the July-September quarter with listings up +12.5 per cent compared to April-June, Otago (+5.1%), Nelson/Tasman (+4.0%), Southland (+3.8%), Northland (+3.0%) and Taranaki (+2.7%) also saw positive movement.

“The impact of falling migration coupled with record numbers of Kiwi departing New Zealand is certainly affecting some of our regional centres who are hungry for talent to fill a growing number of vacancies,” says Matt Tolich.

Those regional centres with the largest decreases in job listings between quarters were Manawatu/Whanganui (-18.6%), Hawkes Bay (-14.8%), Gisborne (-11.5%) and Marlborough (-9.3%).

Auckland and Wellington bruised by job losses

Matt Tolich said the quarterly data for both Wellington and Auckland showed how difficult the past few months have been for the two cities.

Job listings in the Capital are down -9.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter with declines across all but two industries, Government and Council (+4%) and Automotive (+2%).

The biggest falls between July and September were recorded in Sales (-30%), Construction and Roading (-20%) and Office and Administration (-19%).

“It’s interesting to see the growth in Government and Council roles in Wellington and compare it to the declining applications for these positions which is down more than -6.1 per cent year-on-year. It’s clear the recent scale of public sector job losses are making job seekers especially cautious when looking at these roles.”

In Auckland, listings fell 12.8 per cent between quarters and were down across all sectors with the exception of Engineering (+7%) and Agriculture, Fishing and Forestry which stayed flat. The strongest declines were in Property (-55%), Education (-33%) and Marketing, Media and Communications (-29%).

Working from home listings continue to fall

There’s been a -30 per cent decrease in the proportion of job listings on site with ‘work from home’ in the description in the most recent quarter.

Matt Tolich says the latest findings are indicative of employers wanting more workers on site or in the office.

“We saw a -24 per cent reduction in the proportion of working from home roles on site in the last quarter of 2023, around the time the job market started slowing down after which the proportion stabilised and did not change much until more recently.

“There’s been a lot of talk in recent months, both from a New Zealand and global perspective about employers wanting to prioritise connection and have their teams together but for many, office workers in particular, the benefits of working from home are significant and may impact their future job selection.”

Salaries hit record high in the quarter

Aotearoa produced another record average salary in 2024’s third quarter ending September 30 coming in at $72,815 up 1.4 per cent on the same period last year and stable on the previous quarter (+0.1%).

“It’s positive to see this stability and Kiwi employers offering competitive salaries amid the challenging economic conditions at play.”

Average Salary by Region

Northland $70,443

Otago $72,801

Southland $72,401

Taranaki $70,240

Waikato $71,572

Wellington $76,069

West Coast $72,372

Average Salary by Industry

Education $71,985

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