SEEK NZ Employment Report March

NATIONAL INSIGHTS

Job ads fell only slightly in March, dropping 0.4% from February. This reflects a notable slowdown in the rate of decline since the beginning of the year, where volumes have dropped just 3.9% quarter-on-quarter – the slowest rate of decline to be recorded in almost twelve months.

Applications per job ad did not rise, as has been the trend for the past five months, but recorded no change from January.

REGION INSIGHTS

Aside from Auckland, where job ad volumes declined 3% from February, most of the large regions recorded an increase, or no change, in March.

The urban centres lagged behind the smaller regions for job ad growth. This was particularly the case in the Industrial and Construction sectors, where volumes rose 7% and 6% respectively in regional areas.

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

A reduction in Public Sector job ads drove the overall decline in ad volume in March with Healthcare & Medical (-5%) and Education & Training (-12%) falling m/m. Community Services & Development was the only industry in the sector to record a rise in job ads, increasing 4% from February.

Professional Services roles recorded some of the largest growth, with Human Resources & Recruitment up 15%, Consulting & Strategy rising 12% and ads within Legal increasing 10% m/m.

Applications per job ad rose considerably for Retail & Consumer Products roles, rising 12% from an already elevated base. There was minimal change to application levels for the biggest industries such as Trades & Services (1%), Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (1%) and Healthcare & Medical (-2%).

Figure 4: National SEEK Job Ad percentage change by industry (March 2024 vs February 2024) – Ordered by job ad volume.

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