Hiring activity rises for just the second time this year

Job ad volumes rose 1% in November compared with a month ago, according to Seek. Photo / 123rf

Hiring activity rose for the first time since July but the labour market remains tight, according to data from Seek.

Seek’s latest Employment Report showed job ad volumes rose 1% in November compared with a month ago.

However, it was only the second time this year job ads have risen on a monthly basis, and they remain down 21% year-on-year.

Job ad volumes fell 1% for the November quarter.

Meanwhile, applications per job ad were up 3% in October (a lag month) compared with the month before.

“Any increase in job ad volume is positive news at this stage, though this is only the second time job ads have risen this year, and only by 1%,” Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said.

Clark said demand for workers in most industries had declined throughout the year.

But bucking that trend was the banking and financial services industry, where growth has boomed in the past two months, with job ads rising 31% since September.

There was also notable monthly growth for mining, resources and energy (15%), construction (13%) and manufacturing, transport and logistics workers (5%).

Recording a decline in job ads in November was the healthcare and medical industry (-7%), hospitality and tourism (-5%), retail and consumer products (-5%) and information and communication technology (-5%).

Rises in the largest regions of Auckland (1%), Wellington (3%) and Canterbury (3%) contributed to the national increase in ad volumes in November.

“There were nominal month-on-month rises in Wellington, Canterbury and Auckland, which solidifies a period of relative stability for these regions over the past five months, after over a year of broad decline,” Clark said.

All regions have seen job ad volumes fall year-on-year. In Wellington, job ads are down 25% compared to November 2023, surpassing the national decline.

Job ad volumes are down 22% year-on-year in Auckland, while Canterbury (-16%) was under the overall national decline.