"The reality is even Wellington is dying and we don't know how to turn it around. All you have there is government, Victoria University and Weta Workshop," Key told business leaders in Auckland.
But Seeks NZ's general manager Janet Faulding said there were currently more than 2,500 new jobs advertised online for Wellington.
"After a slow start to the year it's encouraging to see Wellington performing beyond many people's expectations with strong job creation in May."
The highest number of jobs available in the region was in Information & Communication Technology (ICT) roles, which made up nearly one third of all advertised opportunities.
This was followed by Administration and Trades & Services, and Accounting and Sales roles.
Faulding said it wasn't just job opportunities that were on the rise - employer confidence was also bouncing back.
According to a survey carried out recently by the Wellington Employers' Chamber of Commerce, a net 44.9 per cent of 366 Wellington businesses expected their business situation to improve over the next 12 months.
That was close to a 10 per cent improvement on the previous quarter.
"An increase in business confidence often leads to the creation of more jobs as companies feel positive about implementing plans for future growth," Faulding said.
"This is no exception with almost one third of businesses surveyed expecting to increase their full-time staff numbers in the next 12 months."
On a more negative note, Seek's Employment Index showed demand for jobs was higher than supply in New Zealand last month.
The index dipped by 1 per cent nationally and by the same amount in Auckland and Wellington, meaning applications for roles grew at a faster rate than the number of advertised jobs.
In Canterbury, the Employment Index decreased by 7 per cent.
