Record number of Kiwis seeking new jobs

The number of New Zealand job seekers reached an all time high in March, with over 940,000 people searching for jobs on seek.co.nz, New Zealand’s number one job website, throughout the month.

The March SEEK Employment Index (SEI) showed the effects of more people looking for new employment options as the index declined by 5%, driven by the continued growth in applications which grew faster than the number of new job ads.

The SEEK New Job Ad Index remained stable, with only a slight decrease in month on month growth by 0.2% from February to March 2010. The slowing of growth is most evident in Christchurch which declined by 2.5%. Both Auckland and Wellington experienced positive growth of 0.8% and 0.1% respectively.

“This slight decrease is a typical trend for March following the New Year flurry of seasonal recruitment and not one that signals an ongoing downward trend,” said Annemarie Duff, General Manager of SEEK New Zealand.

“While we have again seen strong total numbers of new job ads being posted, the number of applications for those roles is growing faster,” said Ms Duff.

“Our latest SEEK Satisfaction and Motivation survey revealed that 7 out of 10 employees were keeping their eyes open for other employment options. With the steady rise in new job ads over the past few months, this may have inspired people to take a fresh look at the opportunities out there,” said Ms Duff.

“Customer Service, retail sales assistant and IT Help Desk/Support roles are the three most highly contested roles in New Zealand at the moment. But if you work in defence, are a teacher or an I.T consultant then its good news – there is employer demand for these roles.

The SEEK Employment Index

The SEEK Employment Index (SEI) is a dynamic snapshot of the match between the supply of job seekers and the demand for workers on seek.co.nz (i.e. the ratio of new job advertisements posted on seek.co.nz to job applications submitted to seek.co.nz). It is unique to other indicators as it measures job supply and demand.

After a significant upward change in the index since October last year, the latest data suggests a softening trend driven by continued growth in applications, which rose more sharply than new job ads.

Job Applications

March’s top five most competitive occupations:

Call Centre/Customer Service – Customer Service
Retail & Consumer Products – Retail Sales Assistant
I.T & T – Help Desk and Support
Administration – Administration
Transport & Logistics – Warehouse and Distribution

Customer Service roles move to the top spot on the most competitive occupations list, its sixth consecutive month in the top five. These roles are receiving hundreds of applications for each position advertised.

March’s top five most sought after employees:

1. Government/Defence – Government: Local
Education & Training – Schools
I.T & T – Consultant
Healthcare & Medical – Nurses and Midwives
Legal – Solicitors

Local Government are the most sought after employees this month, and Education and Training roles are back in the top five having fallen off the list in February. Nurses and midwives continue to remain in the top five, due to increasing demand or a critical shortage of specialised skills.

About SEEK

SEEK Limited is the leading online employment and training site in New Zealand. SEEK is a media company using the internet as its distribution channel. SEEK (NZ) Ltd was incorporated in September 1999. SEEK (NZ) Ltd manages seek.co.nz, New Zealand’s largest employment website and one of the best known Internet brands. Currently over 12,000 employment vacancies are advertised on SEEK in New Zealand and over 860,000 unique visitors are drawn to the website.

About the SEEK Employment Index

Developed in consultation with Victoria Centre for Strategic Economic Studies at Victoria University, Melbourne, the SEEK Employment Index (SEI) is the first New Zealand aggregate indicator to measure the interaction between labour market supply and labour market demand. Specifically, the SEI represents the relationship between demand for workers and jobseeker activity. When the index increases, it demonstrates a ‘tightening’ employment market; where advertisers find it harder to fill roles (i.e. demand outweighs supply). This is favourable for jobseekers, as job opportunities are greater and competition between applicants is reduced. Inversely, as the index falls, it demonstrates a ‘softening’ employment market (i.e. supply outweighs demand) and advertisers find it easier to fill roles. In this instance, jobseekers need to compete more for available jobs.