File photo. Photo: 123rf
The number of job ads in February fell 3 percent on the month before, while applications rose for the fifth consecutive month.
Data from employment service Seek indicated the Manawatū region led last month's national decline with a 24 percent drop in ad volume.
"After a slight uplift in January, job ads returned to a declining trend in February, dropping 3 percent," Seek country manager Rob Clark said, adding the number of applications per job rose three percent in January from December.
"Certainly, the recent confirmation that we are in a recession will have an impact on the hiring outlook for many employers.
"For candidates who are already competing heavily for the roles available, this may lead to an even tougher market in the months to come."
When compared to pre-Covid, the main centres recorded the largest drop in hiring activity, while most other regions experienced growth.
The number of job applications was three times the February 2019 rate, while jobs ads were 15 percent down on the five-year earlier period.
Clark said data through the Covid years was far from normal, which was why Seek was using 2019 data for comparison.
He said layoffs announced in March were not factored into the latest data, but suggested the outlook was for a continued deterioration in the labour market.
"It's important to note that some industries are still hiring, with rising job ads in healthcare and medical, sales and marketing and communications," Clark said.
"History shows us that certain industries are more recession-proof than others, such as healthcare and medical and education and training, so we would expect there to be some areas of resilience in the coming months."