Job advertisement volumes remained almost unchanged for April. Photo: 123rf
Job ad volumes have fallen for the first time this year, but the market remains stable according to the latest report from employment website Seek NZ.
Its report for April shows the number of jobs advertised fell 1 percent from the month earlier.
It was down 16 percent from a year ago, but 15 percent higher than April 2019.
Seek country manager Rob Clark said despite the fall in volumes for April, the market was stable.
"If you look across the February - March [period], jobs have been pretty stable. They are down considerably versus last year but we need to remind ourselves that last year was a record year for job numbers.
"We think that it's stable at the moment and still reasonably strong if you're looking for jobs."
But applications per ad, which rose 12 percent in March, was positive news for hirers, he said.
Seek reported applications per job ad with a one-month lag.
"When job volumes come down you generally see an increase in applications per ad just because the talent pool is generally more stable and more consistent than perhaps the job ad volumes," Clark said.
Immigration would also help push up the number of applications, he said.
Hospitality and tourism drove the overall decline in ads, down 20 percent from March, followed by retail and consumer products, down 5 percent.
Clark said that was likely due to the hospitality and tourism sector heading into the traditionally quieter winter period.
Advertising, arts and media recorded the biggest sector-specific drop, with job ad volumes falling just under 21 percent.
Human resources and recruitment saw the biggest increase, with job ads up nearly 17 percent.