Employers found it difficult to find staff in a number of specialised areas especially in technical roles, Ms Kalkhoven said.
"They're not getting the candidates with the right skill sets."
In one case, there were no qualified applicants from within New Zealand for a draughtsperson role, and a candidate had to be found overseas.
There were also shortages in construction and manual labour in Northland, she said.
Northland's jump in job listings was higher than increases in Auckland, Wellington and the Bay of Plenty.
The jump was particularly pronounced in Whangarei, where advertised jobs went up 31.5 per cent, although there were also significant increases in Kaipara and the Far North.
The number of job listings nationally rose by 15 per cent in the first three months of 2017.
Canterbury was the only region where listings fell, although it was by only 2 per cent. The West Coast, Marlborough and Gisborne were the regions with highest increases.
Trade Me spokesman Jeremy Wade said it was the third consecutive quarter of job growth.
Wages have not increased despite the increase in job advertisements. The average salary was down three per cent nationally.
In Northland, the average wage remained flat, increasing by just 0.1 per cent. For the quarter, it was $55,403 per year, according to Trade Me data.
The average wage in Auckland City, which had the highest in the country, was $71,817.
The lowest was Porirua, at $48,251.
Due to the increase in jobs advertised, the average number of applicants for each fell by 13 per cent.
