Job market continues positive trend

An increase in job advertisements last month has signalled the job market for the year will finish on a positive note.

The job market appears to be heading for a positive end of year close with the announcement by SEEK New Zealand that 220,000 jobs have been advertised on the recruitment website since January.

It also released data that showed 22,500 jobs were advertised in October alone, 555 more than the previous month.

“We’ve seen small fluctuations over the last 10 months but, encouragingly, we are tracking ahead of 2012 year-to-date suggesting that we will log positive growth across the year by the end of December,” SEEK New Zealand General Manager, Janet Faulding,  said. 

“Job ads are four per cent higher than they were this time last year and better yet, location wise, the growth is spread across the country and no longer restricted to the big cities.”

According to SEEK’s data the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Otago, Tasman, West Coast, Canterbury and Auckland have all experienced growth in job opportunities during October.

It also found that CEO and General Manager roles, Consulting and Strategy and Mining, Resources and Energy were the classifications that experienced the largest growth. However, IT and Trades and Services industries continued to have the largest amount of jobs available. 

SEEK noted that despite the growth in jobs, application numbers have remained consistent each month.

“When job opportunities grow and numbers of applications are stagnant, it signals a positive market for job hunters. With less applications, competition eases and candidates have a more likely chance of being placed,” Faulding said.