Job ads in New Zealand plummeted by 26.7% in the December quarter when compared to the same time last year, according to research from the Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association.

The report showed that concerns over a recession, inflation, interest rate rises and the increased cost of living appeared to have impacted employer confidence alongside the inability to source skilled talent.

“The New Zealand job market was showing strong resilience against economic uncertainty, but it seems that axe has fallen, or perhaps there is now general acceptance of the status quo in relation to unavailability of skilled talent” said RCSA CEO Charles Cameron.

The plunge in job postings was particularly severe in management and professional roles and across the entire non-professional sector. All occupational groups in these categories reported double digit declines. Demand for staff in Public Administration positions for the December quarter was down 47% over the year.

Permanent job advertisements fell 27.2% over the year while postings for flexible work dropped 24.4% in the past three months.

“Traditionally, when business confidence falls, we see a transition from permanent to flexible arrangements to give employers greater flexibility should conditions deteriorate,” the RCSA stated. “This is not evident currently because many employers are still short staffed and need to build long term capacity.”

Cameron said, “What is interesting is the steep falls in advertising across the board even though skills shortages remain a huge problem. It is possible that some employers may have given up trying to find skillsets or accepted that they cannot compete with the costs associated with inflation, and withdrawn from the market while others are still looking outside the country or in a worst case sending work offshore.”

“Potentially the recent, though delayed, arrivals of skilled migrants in the last quarter may also be acting to reduce the immediate demand,” Cameron added.

In December, RCSA members reported that filling roles was becoming slightly easier with more skilled migrants coming into the country. They observed that without migrant workers, employment in New Zealand would be ‘going backwards’.

“The next twelve months promises to be an interesting time with inflation biting, productivity potentially slowing, and greater yield to job advertising reducing the recent advertising rate from historic highs,” Cameron said.