A record-breaking number of jobs have been listed for the fifth consecutive month, but applications are dropping.
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The latest SEEK New Zealand employment report for July showed job ads were up by 2 percent from June, up by 88 percent from the same time last year when Covid hit, and 30 percent up from 2019.
However, applications per job fell 9 percent from the previous month.
Industries offering the most jobs are trades and services, manufacturing, transport and logistics and information communication and technology.
SEEK NZ country manager Rob Clark said it was a tight market that was being affected by the closed borders.
"Clearly there are some constraints. We're seeing the borders that are closed and a lot of the migrant workers that used to come into the market are no longer here.
"It's clearly a job seekers market and so what we are seeing for businesses is twofold. One is they have to work really hard to secure their talent. Secondly, of course, they need to work really hard to attract new talent in what is clearly a very competitive market," he said.
Throughout the regions, job ad volumes drew a mixed result for July.
"The larger metropolitan areas of Auckland and Canterbury saw job ad volume growth of 2 percent and 5 percent respectively month-on-month. While key regional areas including Taranaki and Gisborne also saw some positive growth of 14 percent and 12 percent respectively, other regions saw a drop month-on-month such as Southland and Otago by 4 percent and 7 percent.
"Even though many areas saw a reduction in July it is important to note that all regions have more jobs than the same month in 2019, before the impacts of Covid. Southland had 32 percent more roles and Otago had 29 percent," he said.
Clark said research also showed people were looking for more flexibility in jobs.
"Nearly two-thirds of Kiwis look for flexible hours, while more than half want flexibility on working location. Car parks are also in the top perks desired by jobseekers, with nearly half indicating they look for a park while job hunting. Kiwis are also keen to find a workplace that prioritises development programmes and mentoring."
