SEEK NZ Employment Report - National public holiday impacted September hiring activity

Rob Clark, SEEK NZ Country Manager says:

“Applications per job ad continue to rise, with levels now at their highest in 16 months.

“The real standout in September was the fast rise of applications per job ad in Healthcare & Medical. For an industry that is in dire need of staff, the rise in applications for jobs in this industry has been pleasing to see. Applications per job ad for Aged Care Nurses are significantly higher than they were this time last year.

“Job ads fell nationally last month, and in every region, which is in part due to the national public holiday impacting hiring activity. Job ad levels remain high year-on-year and in comparison to pre-pandemic levels, which means that it is still a tight job market.

“While job ads in Hospitality & Tourism roles declined this month after a significant rise in August, casual roles in the industry increased, as businesses look to hire short-term staff ahead of the busy summer and Christmas season.”

NATIONAL INSIGHTS

Job ads fell for only the second time this year, declining 4% from August, but are 22% higher y/y and 35% higher than September 2019.

Applications per job ad rose 6%, the seventh monthly increase, bringing levels to their highest point in 15 months.

Figure 1: National SEEK job ad percentage change m/m September 2021 to September 2022

Table 2: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing September 2022 to: i) August 2022 (m/m); ii) September 2021 (y/y) and iii) September 2019.

REGION INSIGHTS

Job ads declined in every region m/m. Taranaki fell the fastest, dropping 8% m/m, followed by Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Waikato which decreased by 7%.

The most populous regions of Auckland and Wellington drove the national decline, falling 4% and 5% respectively.

Applications per job ad rose in all but three regions from July to August. Otago recorded the greatest increase (+17%) followed by Bay of Plenty (+15%) and Northland and Gisborne (+12%).

Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Taranaki all declined in applications per job ad. Taranaki’s significant rise in ad volume in August mas a major contributor to this, as candidate application numbers were diluted across a larger number of opportunities.

Figure 2: Major region job ad volumes – September 2019 to September 2022

Figure 3: National SEEK job ad percentage change by region (September 2022 vs August 2022)

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Four industries recorded a rise in job ads in September: Science & Technology (+14%), Marketing & Communications (+4%), Government & Defence and Education & Training (+3%).

The largest industries by job ad volume all declined m/m, namely Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (-7%), Trades & Services (-1%), Information & Communication Technology (-7%) and Hospitality & Tourism (-12%).

In welcome news for the Healthcare industry, applications per job ad in Healthcare & Medical rose 28% m/m with a 52% increase in General & Surgical Nurses. Significantly, applications per job ad for Aged Care Nurses have increased at a very fast pace since the start of the year, rising 55% in September.

Figure 4: National SEEK job ad percentage change by industry (September 2022 vs August 2022) – Ordered by job ad volume

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MEDIA NOTE: When reporting SEEK NZ data, we request that you attribute SEEK NZ as the source and refer to SEEK NZ as an employment marketplace.