The number of job advertisements rose in August, almost reversing July's slump. Overall, ads rose by 1.4% after a 1.9 percent fall the previous month.
Newspaper job ads were up 4.5 percent - a turnaround from July, when they fell almost 8 percent.
Christchurch bucked the trend in newspaper ads, which have surged due to the city's rebuild. Photo: RNZ / Karen Brown
They were strongest in Auckland and earthquake-hit Canterbury, but fell in other regions as internet-based advertising increased.
Internet job advertising rose by 1 percent in the month.
ANZ Bank economist Sharon Zollner said recent results have been up and down, but the overall trend points to lower employment growth.
"The labour market's definitely strengthened over the last year. We've had some pretty decent employment growth and that's supporting household incomes, which is really good news.
"But the flattening out of job ads suggests we'll see a more modest rate of employment growth from here.
"The way people look for jobs is certainly changing. Newspapers continue to lose market share to the internet. Also I think the Canterbury rebuild might have distorted the data possibly.
"Certainly we've seen a surge in newspaper advertising in Canterbury, which runs counter to nationwide trends. I think people are pretty desperate to find work down in Christchurch" she said.
"I think people are pulling up in utes outside building sites and offering jobs to workers they like the look of - these are the anectdoes down there - so that's not going to show up in job ads."