SEEK Employment Snapshot - some optimistic signs for the road to recovery
This snapshot complements the SEEK Employment Trends report that is released quarterly. SEEK is publishing regular insights based on job ad movements compared to a pre-COVID baseline of February 2020.
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Key insights (weeks 25 & 26 compared to February 2020):
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Some optimistic signs for the road to recovery
Janet Faulding, General Manager, SEEK NZ comments: “In the fortnight ended 28 June, job volumes were at 57.1% of pre-COVID levels. For jobseekers this is welcome news, as it’s a long way from the job data we saw during the lowest point of the pandemic, which was April 2020.
“There are plenty of opportunities for people looking for work, with roles being advertised for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour. Many of these jobs have training offered as part of the role, so understanding the sorts of transferrable skills that candidates can bring to the job will help to increase their options.
“The Healthcare & Medical industry, for example, is recovering well with top jobs including psychologists, counsellors, aged care and general medical nurses, dentists and physiotherapists. The Community Services & Development sector is also showing positive job ad growth, with roles in youth and family services, and aged and disability support being advertised in the last fortnight.
“The majority of the regions showed growth in job ad volumes in the last two weeks. When compared to pre-COVID levels in February of this year, Wellington is the major region leading the way with the highest job ad levels at 63.2% of pre-COVID levels. Canterbury and Auckland are sitting just over 50%, and although there is still some volatility in the week-to-week numbers, overall, we continue to see job ad volume growth.”
Job ads volumes compared to February 2020:
- Wellington: 63.2%
- Canterbury: 55.7%
- Auckland: 51.0%
Figure one: SEEK new job ads by state for 2020
Figure two: Job ad volume by sector for weeks 25 & 26 compared to pre-COVID (February 2020 average)
Where the jobs are:
- Trades & Services: roles such as Building Trades, Automotive Trades and Labourers
- Information & Communication Technology: Developers/ Programmers, Business/ Systems Analysts, Software Engineering, Help Desk & IT Support and Project Management
- Healthcare & Medical: Psychology, Counselling & Social Work, Nursing (Aged Care and General Medical), Physiotherapy, Dental, and Medical Administration
- Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics: Warehousing, Storage & Distribution, Machine Operators, Assembly & Process Work and Road Transport
- Construction: Project Management, Foreperson/ Supervisors, Plant & Machine Operators
