SEEK NZ Employment Report - application levels remain stronger than pre-COVID
FEBRUARY 2023 KEY FINDINGS:
NATIONAL INSIGHTS:
- Job ads rose 1% month-on-month (m/m) and are 15% higher compared to February 2019.
- Applications per job ad fell 7% in January, after twelve months of consecutive increases.
REGION INSIGHTS:
- Job ad levels decreased in Hawkes Bay, Manawatu and Southland, remained steady in Auckland, Wellington & Waikato, and increased in all other regions.
- Applications per job ad rose in five regions m/m, including by 4% in Waikato.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:
- The industries driving the overall rise in job ads in February were Hospitality & Tourism (8%) and Construction (11%).
- Applications per job ad fell in all of the largest hiring industries, but grew in Construction (3%), Sales (3%) and Education & Training (7%), among others.
Rob Clark, SEEK NZ Country Manager says:
“Candidate activity fell for the first time in a year, with applications per job ad dropping 7% in January. However, application levels remain strong in comparison to pre-COVID after twelve months of steady growth.
“Job ads rose only slightly in February, due to increasing demand in the Construction and Consumer Services sectors. Hospitality & Tourism, Construction and Retail & Consumer Products all recorded month-on-month rises in job ads, with Retail Assistants, Chefs and Hospitality Managers all increasingly in demand.
“There was little to no change in job ad levels in the major regions, with Otago driving the increase, and Hawkes Bay understandably recording significant decline.
“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.”
NATIONAL INSIGHTS
Job ads rose by a slight 1% in February. They are 13% lower year-on-year, compared to the Great Job Boom, but 15% higher compared to February 2019.
Applications per job ad fell for the first time in a year, dropping 8%, but remain higher than at any time pre-COVID.
Figure 1: National SEEK job ad percentage change m/m February 2022 to February 2023.
Table 2: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing February 2023 to: i) January 2023 (m/m) and ii) February 2022 (y/y).
REGION INSIGHTS
Cyclone-affected Hawkes Bay understandably recorded a significant drop in job ads in February, while Auckland and Waikato, both impacted by flooding in late January and early February, recorded no change in ad levels.
The greatest increase in job ads was recorded in Marlborough which rose 12% m/m.
Applications per job ad in January rose in Waikato (4%), Manawatu (1%), Tasman (6%), Southland (8%) and West Coast (6%), remained steady in Hawkes Bay and fell in all other regions.
Applications per job ad are reported with a one-month lag. Applications per job ad data referenced in this report refers to January data.
Figure 3: National SEEK job ad percentage change by region (February 2023 vs January 2023).
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
While the largest hiring industry, Trades and Services, saw job ads rise by 2% m/m, Hospitality & Tourism and Construction were responsible for the overall uplift in job ads in February.
Job ads in Hospitality & Tourism rose 8%, Chefs/Cooks increased by 4%, roles in Management lifted 13% and Wait Staff surged by 18%.
The 11% rise in Construction roles was due to demand for Project Management (5%), Plant/ Machinery Operator (1%) and Foreperson/ Supervisory roles (24%).
Applications per job ad fell in all of the largest industries in January, after recording significant growth the month prior.
Figure 4: National SEEK job ad percentage change by industry (February 2023 vs January 2023) – Ordered by job ad volume
Click here for the latest SEEK Employment Report data or for more employment insights or career advice please visit SEEK’s Hiring Advice or SEEK's Career Advice.
MEDIA NOTE: When reporting SEEK data, we request that you attribute SEEK as the source and refer to SEEK as an employment marketplace.
