Job advertisements fell 2% in February, according to employment marketplace SEEK, turning around January's 4% increase in job ad numbers.
On a yearly basis, SEEK's latest NZ employment report shows job ads were down 17% compared to February 2024.
SEEK Country Manager Rob Clark said after a notable rise in January, worker demand had “readjusted” and fallen in the month of February by 2%.
“The month-on-month data can be a little bit noisy, and we are seeing some bounce among industries,” he said.
“For job seekers, we know that the start of the year is a peak time to jump back into the job hunt and the data shows it did, with a 5% rise in applications per job ad, coinciding with a rise in ad volumes in January.”
SEEK’s report found ad volumes fell across both metro and regional areas during February, with metro areas experiencing a 1.5% decrease in job ads compared to a 2.5% fall for the regions.
Job ad falls in Auckland (down 2%) and Otago (down 7%) contributed the most to the national decline in job ads during February. Other large declines last month were Tasman (down 9%) and Marlborough (down 7%).
Just four regions reported a job ad increase from the previous month and those regions were West Coast (up 6%), Christchurch (up 3%), Southland (up 2%) and Bay of Plenty (up 1%).
SEEK’s employment report found while demand stalled in the largest hiring industries in February, it was a 15% tumble in call centre and customer service roles that was the biggest contributor to February’s job ad decline.
Trades, services manufacturing and transport logistics ,which make up the largest hiring industries, reported job ads falling by 4% in February.
Government, marketing and insurance and superannuation roles saw the biggest increases in job ads during February.
Applications per job, which SEEK records with a one month lag, rose 5% in January when compared with application levels in December 2024.
Regions with the highest number of applications per job were in the country’s biggest regions – Auckland (up 6%), Christchurch (up 4%) and Wellington (up 2%).
Advertised salaries on the up
According to SEEK’s latest New Zealand Advertised Salary Index, average advertised salaries rose 2.6% on an annual basis in the 12 months to February 2025.
On a quarterly basis, advertised salaries growth was 0.7% in February compared to November 2024.
Clark said while annual average advertised salary growth continues to slow, it still remains above inflation which is currently at 2.2%, within the Reserve Bank's target range of 1% to 3%.
“Despite having some of the more robust labour markets over 2024, advertised salary growth has slowed more notably in the more regional parts of the South Island,” he said.
Canterbury advertised salaries were up 0.8% in the February quarter, but across the South Island advertised salaries edged up only 0.1% from the previous quarter.
Over the course of 2024, the slow advertised salary growth outside of Canterbury contributed to the South Island’s advertised salary growth rising just 0.5% in the 12 months to February.
Advertised salaries grew the fastest in Auckland, up 0.9% from the previous quarter, higher than the rest of the North Island where advertised salaries were up 0.7%. Wellington advertised salaries were up 0.5% from November 2024.
“Slower advertised salary growth in some of the largest industries is dragging down the national average, with some smaller industries like Science & Technology growing much faster,” Clark said.
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