The number of job advertisements in New Zealand rose in January, yet the rate of applications for vacancies declined, according to the Seek recruitment website. 

The Seek NZ Employment Report for February revealed job ads rose 1% month-on-month and, compared to February 2019, were 15% higher. 

In addition, candidate activity dropped for the first time in a year, with application per job advertisement falling 7% in January, says Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark. 

That said, application levels stayed strong compared to pre-pandemic levels, following a year of steady growth. 

“Job ads rose only slightly in February due to increasing demand in the construction and consumer services sectors,” he said.

Nevertheless, there was a considerable decline in job ads reported in Hawke’s Bay last month, a 15% fall compared to January, whilst applications per job stayed steady. 

In contrast, the largest rise in job ads was reported in Marlborough, up 2% month-on-month. 

Whereas, there was a 1% rise in applications per job ad in January recorded in Manawatu; 4% in Waikato; 6% in Tasman; Southland with 8% and West Coast with 6%, falling in all other regions. 

“The good news is that a bit of the heat has come out of the market since the vacancy peaks of 2022. There are still plenty of opportunities open for candidates, and businesses are increasingly seeing application levels rise,” Clark added.

The hospitality/tourism and construction industries drove the overall rise in job ads last month, with an 8% increase. Whereas in trades and services, the largest industry by volume, there was a 2% month-on-month rise.

Applications per job ad declined in all the biggest hiring industries, yet rose 3% in construction, 3% in sales and 7% in education and training.