A surge in the number of people applying for jobs is likely to continue, making it harder for people to find employment, Trade Me says.
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The latest Trade Me figures show that in the three months to December the average number of applications per listing was 12 percent higher than in the previous quarter, while there was only a 2 percent growth in job listings.
Head of Trade Me Jobs Peter Osborne said that meant job hunters faced more competition, which was unlikely to change in the next three months.
"The ball is now firmly in the employers' court," he said.
"The level of applications will remain quite high, because the number of jobs being advertised has come off the boil just a little bit, but people are still looking for work."
The New Year was the busiest time of year for job applications as people made resolutions they wanted to make a change, he said.
"This increase means employers should find it easier to fill roles and job hunters are going to have a tougher time landing a job. Put simply, there are now more candidates for employers to choose from."