Seek says job ads fell again in July, after revised figures wiped out earlier signs of growth and showed weaker conditions in the main North Island centres.<\/p>\n
Job ads have fallen for a third consecutive month, pointing to a still-soft labour market despite vacancies growing on an annual basis.<\/p>\n
Seek’s July employment report showed job ads were down 0.8% from June.<\/p>\n
It has also revised away earlier signs of growth, saying “recalibrated data” now showed job ads had also fallen for the past four months.<\/p>\n
Despite the downward “recalibrations”, job ads growth was still 6.2% higher year-on-year.<\/p>\n
Applications per job ad, which are reported with a one-month lag, rose 1.6% in June, suggesting more candidates were competing for fewer vacancies.<\/p>\n
The figures also pointed to a widening divide between weaker conditions in the main North Island centres and pockets of strength<\/a> in the South Island.<\/p>\n Seek New Zealand country manager Rob Clark said July had brought a further decline in advertised roles, with only “pockets of growth” across the country.<\/p>\n “Conditions remain strongest in the South Island, while larger centres, including Auckland, Wellington and Waikato, continue to face greater headwinds.”<\/p>\n The report said the recent fall had been driven by weaker advertising in the biggest regions.<\/p>\n Auckland job ads fell 0.9% in July, led by lower demand in sales, manufacturing, transport and logistics, and trades and services.<\/p>\n Wellington was down 1.3%, with government and defence, accounting, and healthcare and medical roles among the main contributors.<\/p>\n Only four regions recorded monthly growth: Hawke’s Bay, Marlborough, the West Coast and Otago.<\/p>\n Seek said South Island growth outside Canterbury appeared to be supported by hospitality and tourism, and construction roles.<\/p>\n Canterbury \u2013 one of the more resilient labour markets over the past year \u2013 also declined for the second consecutive month, down 0.3%, as a fall in construction offset gains in manufacturing, transport and logistics, and trades and services.<\/p>\n At an industry level, mining, resources and energy showed the strongest momentum, with ads up 3.3% for the month and 38.5% over the year.<\/p>\n Education and training, engineering, and real estate and property also rose in July.<\/p>\n But construction, which has helped lift regional hiring in recent months, weakened nationally, falling 0.9%.<\/p>\n Healthcare and medical ads also continued to decline, falling 1.4% in July, while trades and services made the biggest contribution to the overall monthly fall.<\/p>\n