The number of people chasing jobs is growing faster than the jobs being advertised, according to a leading employment website.
Seek’s September employment report showed a 0.1 percent increase in the number of job adverts on the previous month, the weakest growth since the middle of 2025.
The number of jobs advertised rose 7.8 percent on a year earlier.
The number of applications rose 2.9 percent on August, although the rate was 2.1 percent less than a year ago.
“Candidates are applying in greater numbers, with applications per job ad rising at the sharpest pace since April 2024 … This suggests competition for roles remains high, even as hiring activity holds steady,” Seek NZ sales manager David Swift said.
Strongest growth in advertised jobs was the consumer services sector driven by a 3 percent rise in hospitality and tourism positions.
“Businesses [are] clearly gearing up for summer. We saw a real surge in demand for travel agents, tour guides and airline roles,” Swift said.
There was strong annual growth was in mining, resources and energy jobs at more than 41 percent, close to four year highs.
Professional services jobs, such as marketing, accounting, and IT roles went backwards for the month, with real estate related jobs showing the biggest annual decline.
The South Island regions with strong agriculture and export focus led the job ad stakes.
Tasman had the strongest monthly growth, followed by Southland and
Otago, which had the strongest annual growth at more than 18 percent.
Advert growth in Auckland and Wellington lagged most regions.
The Seek report also noted significant growth in the mention of artificial intelligence in job adverts, 4 percent of all roles.
AI references were notably present for ICT, marketing, communication, and consulting roles.