SEEK NZ Employment Report - August 2023
NATIONAL INSIGHTS:
Job ads increased for the first time since March, rising 2% month-on-month (m/m).
Ad volumes are 26% lower year-on-year (y/y) but are 4% higher than August 2019.
Applications per job ad increased for the sixth consecutive month, rising 2%*.
REGION INSIGHTS:
The monthly increase in job ad volumes was driven by growth in Auckland (3%), Hawkes Bay (7%) and Manawatu (7%).
Regions to record a decline in job ads were Gisborne (-8%), West Coast (-4%), Taranaki (-2%) and Bay of Plenty (-1%).
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS:
The industries driving the job ad increase were Hospitality & Tourism (20%), Community Services & Development (11%) and Education & Training (12%).
Construction (-7%) was the largest industry to record a decline in job ads.
Applications per job ad picked up in most industries, including Information & Communication Technology (8%) and Trades & Services (5%).
*Applications per job ad data is recorded with a one-month lag. The data referred to in this report is July data.
Rob Clark, SEEK NZ Country Manager says:
“Typically, leading into a general election, we would expect to see a dip in hiring activity as businesses put plans on hold. Yet it is one month out from the election and hiring activity has picked up. Businesses are beginning to plan for a busy lead-in to summer with demand for workers rising for the first time in five months.
“Demand was broad-based, though it was driven by a 20% increase in Hospitality & Tourism job ad numbers.
“The cities were responsible most of this growth, particularly Auckland and Manawatu, though one of the smallest regions by job ad volume, Southland, recorded the greatest jump in job ads, up 9%.
“Applications per job ad continue to rise and continue to break SEEK records. Application levels are higher than they have ever been before, growing in the double digits for Call Centre & Customer Service roles, Sales and Education & Training roles in particular.”
NATIONAL INSIGHTS
After falling m/m since March, job ad volumes increased in August by 2%. Small increases in many of the high-volume industries and the larger cities were responsible for the overall rise. Job ads are 26% lower year-on-year and 4% higher than August 2019.
Applications per job ad rose for a sixth consecutive month, increasing 2% from the month prior. Levels are now higher than ever recorded by SEEK data.
Figure 1: National SEEK job ad percentage change m/m August 2022 to August 2023.
Table 1: National and regional job ad growth/decline comparing August 2023 to: i) July 2023 (m/m), ii) August 2022 (y/y) and iii) August 2019.
REGION INSIGHTS
Nine regions recorded increased job ad volumes in August, with Auckland (3%), Hawkes Bay (7%) and Manawatu (7%) the greatest contributors to overall growth.
Some of the smaller regions by job ad volume recorded the greatest decline, specifically Gisborne (-8%) and West Coast (-4%).
Nationally, job ads in the cities grew to a greater degree than the regional areas, with urban roles rising 3% m/m, and those outside the major cities rising just 0.6%.
Applications per job ad rose in many regions m/m, the greatest being in Northland (13%), Gisborne (10%) and Otago (10%).
Figure 2: Region job ad volumes – August 2019 to August 2023
Figure 3: National SEEK job ad percentage change by region (August 2023 vs July 2023)
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
While most of the large industries recorded increases in job ads in August, the greatest were in Hospitality & Tourism (20%), Consulting & Strategy (15%), Education & Training (12%) and Community Services & Development (11%).
After declining since March, Hospitality & Tourism ads jumped in August due to rising demand for Chefs/ Cooks, Management and Front of House staff, likely in preparation for the upcoming summer and Christmas season. Similarly, demand for Retail Assistants and Store Managers within the Retail & Consumer Products industry was on the rise in August.
Applications per job ad grew for many of the largest industries, with Information & Communication Technology (8%), Trades & Services (5%) and Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (4%) rising with applicant interest.
Figure 4: National SEEK job ad percentage change by industry (August 2023 vs July 2023) – Ordered by job ad volume
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.
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Disclaimer
The Data should be viewed and regarded as standalone information and should not be aggregated with any other information whether such information has been previously provided by SEEK Limited, ("SEEK"). The Data is given in summary form and whilst care has been taken in its preparation, SEEK makes no representations whatsoever about its completeness or accuracy. SEEK expressly bears no responsibility or liability for any reliance placed by you on the Data, or from the use of the Data by you. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately.
About SEEK NZ
SEEK has been helping New Zealanders live more fulfilling and productive working lives since 1999.
SEEK is a diverse group of companies, comprised of a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. As a market leader in online employment marketplaces that span ten countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America, SEEK makes a positive contribution to people’s lives on a global scale.
About the SEEK New Zealand Employment Report
The SEEK Employment Report provides a comprehensive overview of the New Zealand employment marketplace. The report includes the SEEK New Job Ad Index, which measures only new job ads posted within the reported month to provide a clean measure of demand for labour across all classifications. SEEK’s total job ad volume (not disclosed in this report) includes duplicated job advertisements and refreshed job ads. As a result, the SEEK New Job Ad Index does not always match the movement in SEEK’s total job ad volume.