Competition among job seekers rising at fastest pace in more than two years

Competition among job seekers is rising at its fastest pace in more than two years, new Seek data show.

The latest Seek Employment Report showed applications per job ad increased 2.9% in August, compared with the previous month.

“Candidates are applying in greater numbers, with applications per job ad rising at the sharpest pace since April 2024,” Seek national sales manager David Swift said.

“This suggests competition for roles remains high, even as hiring activity holds steady.”

Meanwhile, job ad volumes rose 0.1% in September compared with August and are 7.8% higher year on year.

“Job ads in New Zealand rose again in September, extending a run of month-on-month growth that’s held for some time now,” Swift said.

“That said, the pace has eased over the past six months, settling into a narrower band of 0.1% to 0.3% month on month growth.

“Still, hiring demand remains well above last year’s levels.”

The South Island outpaced the rest of the country for monthly hiring activity, with Tasman (+2.3%), Southland (+1.8%) and Otago (+1.7%) posting the strongest monthly gains.

Job ad volumes in Auckland rose 0.7% on a monthly basis.

Hawke’s Bay (-1.5%) and Taranaki (-1.2%) were among the few regions to ease month on month.

“Hospitality and tourism had a particularly strong September, growing over 3% in the month, with businesses clearly gearing up for summer,” Swift said.

“We saw a real surge in demand for travel agents, tour guides and airline roles.”

Across all sectors, only professional services fell on a monthly basis in September, with demand for marketing and communications roles down 2.1%, accounting roles down 1.3% and information and communication technology roles down 1.1%.

Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) skills within the workplace grew, with job ads referencing AI skills rising 3.7% in September, compared with the previous month and are now 88.2% higher year on year.