Seek country manager Rob Clark said hirers were spoilt for choice, with strong levels of competition among applicants.
“Retail and consumer products, and hospitality and tourism, were the lead contributors to the decline in November,” Clark said.
“While it is expected that hiring within these industries would slow down at the end of the year, retail and consumer products in particular has been recording a downward trend in hiring for the past three months.”
Cities continued to lead the downturn in the labour market with ad volumes falling to a greater degree in the metro areas compared to the smaller regions.
Job ads fell by 7 percent in Wellington in November, while listings in Auckland dropped 6 percent.
Gisborne jobs up
The monthly decline was not across the board, however, as Manawatū, Southland and Gisborne recorded small increases in job ad volumes month-on-month.
“When compared to the same time last year, Gisborne is the only region where job ads have increased, up 9 percent from November 2022,” he said.
“All other regions have declined after the great job boom of 2022.”
The sharp annual decrease in listings experienced in Wellington was 32 percent, closely followed by Auckland down 31 percent.
Job ads were 29 percent lower in Waikato compared to the same time a year ago, and down 25 percent in Canterbury compared to last November.
“Candidates will have to work harder to stand out amongst the strong level of competition,” Clark said.
-RNZ
