Growing competition for jobs

The number of jobs listed on SEEK has dropped while more people are looking for work.

Hawke's Bay job hunters have their work cut out as competition has increased, while the number of available jobs has declined.

There was a 4 per cent drop in the number of jobs advertised on seek.co.nz during November, compared with the same month last year, according to the jobs site's latest monthly SEEK Employment Report.

As of December 10, there were 188 jobs listed on the site in Hawke's Bay.

There was however, a 26 per cent rise in the number of applications for those roles compared with 2013 application rates.

Pipeline Recruitment director Ian Beattie said the jobseekers' market was starting to "heat up" as people began looking for change.

"Coming into the holiday season, we are starting to see more activity in terms of jobseekers and that is often because this is the time of year when people currently in jobs think about making a change.

"We are starting to see locally, greater interest in terms of people wanting to make a fresh change and take on a new challenge for the new year," he said. "There are also those who are looking to move into the region so we are getting quite a few inquiries from people in the larger centres who may be thinking about moving into the provinces, particularly Hawke's Bay or even Hawke's Bay people seeking to return home.

"It is that time of year when people are evaluating, they are making life decisions and we expect that will carry on through into the new year."

Employers on the other hand, will have more confidence to start new roles at the beginning of the new year, said Mr Beattie

"In terms of employers, they tend to hold off making decisions at this time of year but will give new roles the green light come January.

"January, February and March are our busiest time of the year as companies create new roles and also because there is often movement with people changing jobs, new opportunities are created for others."

Nationally, there was a rise of almost 8 per cent in jobs advertised on seek.co.nz, up from 2013. This was driven by an increased supply of jobs in Auckland and Canterbury.

SEEK New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said the current market could be viewed with optimism.

"Throughout the latter half of this year, indicators such as the Household Labour Force survey have pointed to a strengthening market and the data from the SEEK Employment Report certainly backs this up.

"The strong gains seen in the number of jobs on SEEK in the last 12 months spell great news for Kiwis thinking about a new job in the new year," said Ms Faulding.

A rise in the number of jobs advertised does not mean applicants could expect an easy ride, however, she said.

"Those looking for their next role will need to put their best foot forward though as this increase in jobs does not necessarily equate to a candidate's market. NZME.