15 Jul 2022

Employment data: Canterbury sees 23 percent increase in jobs advertised

7:27 am on 15 July 2022

There continues to be more jobs advertised than a year ago, according to Seek employment data.

Panoramic sunset shot of city with mountains backdrop,shot in Port Hills location above Christchurch, South Island of New Zealand

Christchurch. File photo Photo: 123rf.com

While there was a month-on month decline in the number of jobs advertised overall - down 3 percent, bringing numbers back to what they were in April - according to Seek employment data, last month ads were up in Taranaki (9 percent), Marlborough (8 percent) and West Coast (7 percent).

It was only the second time this year job ads declined. In June there was still 35 percent more jobs advertised than there was in pre-pandemic, in June 2019, and 9 percent more than in June 2021.

Canterbury in particular has seen a 23 percent rise in the number of jobs advertised over the past year.

"A 3 percent drop in job ads is the largest fall recorded on seek.co.nz in 10 months, however job ads remain 35 percent higher than pre-pandemic levels," Seek NZ country manager Rob Clark said.

"This is demonstrative of the prolonged growth experienced in all industries and regions over the past two years.

In hospitality and tourism, despite a 4 percent month-on-month drop in roles advertised, there were 98 percent more jobs advertised in June than there was at the same time in 2019, and 40 percent ahead of what there was in June last year.

Roles in healthcare & medical roles dropped 2 percent in June.

They rose in education & training (4 percent), advertising, arts & media (4 percent) and mining, resources & energy (8 percent).

There were more people applying for jobs, particularly in construction, which saw a 30 percent jump in applications per job in May.

More people applied for jobs in June than they have in any month since July 2021, with applications per job ad on Seek up 5 percent from May. Ads posted in May rose 3 percent.

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