Seek job ads fall for second consecutive month, more people vying for same position

The number of jobs advertised in May fell for the second consecutive month and have fallen more than 20 percent since their peak a year ago.

Employment website Seek’s monthly employment report shows job ad volumes declined 5 percent month-on-month in May.

However, more people are applying for the jobs that were on offer, with applications per job ad up 13 percent in a month.

Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said although job adverts increased in some smaller regions of the country, that was not enough to offset the overall decline.

“Job ads fell for the second consecutive month, due to small decreases in volumes in the largest industries of manufacturing, transport and logistics and trades and services.

“The need for workers in healthcare and medical has risen continually over the past three months, with aged care nurses and psychologists and counsellors driving demand.”

Clark said the number of applications per job ad were at levels not seen since the early days of the pandemic and job ads were at record lows, with applications per job ad up 38 percent in the manufacturing transport and logistics sector in a month.

“Roles for drivers, couriers, building trades and warehouse workers were particularly popular in May,” he said.

Applications per job ad rose in every region across the country and were 89 percent above than pre-pandemic levels, Clark said.

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