The ANZ jobs index released on Thursday shows total job advertising rose 1.1% in September, with the number of jobs advertised just over 4% higher than a year ago.
ANZ Senior Economist Sharon Zollner says newspaper ads rose 4.2% after a sharp fall in August.
Ms Zollner says Internet ads rose 0.5% which is the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
She says the increase in job advertising and the labour market in general has been more gradual than most people would prefer.
She says the increase in job advertising and the labour market in general has been more gradual than most people would prefer.
She says it's normal for the labour market to lag behind the general economy but the jobs recovery had been sluggish.
"We're optimistic that in the second half of this year things are going to pick up."
Ms Zollner says the Christchurch rebuild will be a major contributor to an increase in jobs in the next few months.
She says of interest this month is that in annual growth terms Auckland passed Canterbury for the first time since the rebuild began.
