Job advertisements nationally are almost 8% higher than they were a year ago, according to employment marketplace SEEK New Zealand, with applications per advert also rising on a month-by-month basis.
The latest SEEK NZ Employment Report, for September, shows that while job ad volumes lifted higher annually, they increased by just 0.1% in September on a monthly basis.
“The pace of growth has moderated over the past six months to a range of 0.1% to 0.3% month-on-month, though on an annual basis hiring demand remains well above last year’s levels, up 7.8% year-on-year,” SEEK says.
SEEK says applications per job ad, which are recorded with a one-month lag, were up 2.9% in August.
“Candidates are applying in greater numbers, with applications per job ad rising at the sharpest pace since April 2024 at 2. 9% month-on-month. This suggests competition for roles remains high, even as hiring activity holds steady,” SEEK National Sales Manager David Swift says.
While candidate activity was down 2.1% on an annual basis, SEEK says the gap has closed considerably in recent months.
Job ads are a good indicator of trends in the labour market. Official labour market figures for the June 2026 quarter from Statistics NZ showed the unemployment rate was at 5.6% – the highest it has been for more than a decade – up from 5.4% in the March 2026 quarter. Statistics NZ will release the September 2026 quarter labour market statistics on November 4.
Hospitality and tourism gearing up for summer
The SEEK report found the consumer services sector drove much of September's job ad growth, led by hospitality and tourism, up 3.2% month-on-month, and retail and consumer products, up 3.1% month-on-month.
“Hospitality and tourism had a particularly strong September, growing over 3% in the month, with businesses clearly gearing up for summer. We saw a real surge in demand for travel agents, tour guides and airline roles,” Swift says.
SEEK says the consumer services sector was also the leading contributor to the month-on-month increase in job ad growth in Auckland and across regional areas of the North and South Islands, with South Island regions seeing a particularly strong 3.5% lift.
Most regions recorded job ad growth in September, with Tasman up the most at 2.3% month-on-month, followed by Southland (up 1.8%) and Otago (up 1.7%). Hawke's Bay (down 1.5% month-on-month) and Taranaki (down 1.2% month-on-month) were among the few regions to experience job ad declines in September.
Wellington’s monthly job ad movements were also subdued, with a 1.0% month-on-month fall, weighed down by softer hiring demand in information and communication technology (down 2.0%) and government and defence (down 3.7% month-on-month), according to SEEK.
Meanwhile, Auckland recorded 0.7% month-on-month growth, up on the back of gains in hospitality and tourism (up 4.3%), as well as retail and consumer products (up 3.8%).
Annually, double-digit job ad growth was reported across the country, led by Otago (up 18.6% year-on-year), Manawatū (up 18.0% year-on-year) and Taranaki (up 17.1% year-on-year).
South Island continues to outpace the North Island
The only regions to record job ad growth lower than in September 2025 were Northland (down 1.2% year-on-year) and Gisborne (down 3.6% year-on-year).
“Regionally, the South Island outpaces the rest of the country for monthly hiring activity, with Tasman, Southland and Otago posting the strongest month-on-month gains, while most of the country is now recording double-digit annual growth,” Swift says.
Across all sectors, only the professional services sector reported job ad growth falling month-on-month, with hiring easing within these industries: marketing and communications (down 2.1%), accounting (down 1.3%), information and communication technology (down 1.1%) and science and technology (down 0.5%).
Most industries recorded solid annual growth, with mining, resources and energy job ads up the most at 41.4% year-on-year, with SEEK saying hiring demand in this area is nearing peak levels last seen in mid-2022.
The top three largest hiring industries also recorded annual double-digit gains: trades and services (up 16.8%), manufacturing, transport and logistics (up 26.1%) and healthcare and medical (up 10.8%).
The steepest year-on-year declines were recorded in industries with smaller hiring volumes, like design and architecture (down 16.6%) and real estate and property (down 14.0%).
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