New job ads posted on job board Seek New Zealand decreased by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2020 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

Job ads on Seek New Zealand were up 19% when comparing Q4 2020 to Q3 2020.

Janet Faulding, General Manager, Seek NZ, said, ““The end to 2020 saw continued growth throughout the country, with almost all regions experiencing a substantial lift in new job ads posted to seek.co.nz compared to the previous quarter. In Q4, Auckland rose 24%, Wellington increased 20% and Canterbury was up 17%.”

“Despite such a unique and challenging year for the labour market it is really encouraging to end quarter 4 2020 just 7% lower than 2019,” Faulding said. “It is a real testament to the resilience and hard work of so many New Zealanders to end the year positively.”

When compared to Q4 2019, job ads in Auckland fell by 15%, in Wellington by 3% and in Canterbury by 14%.

“Following the New Zealand 2020 General Election in October, we noticed an increase in business confidence,” Faulding added. “More certainty led to continued growth in the lead up to the holiday period, when businesses prepared for this busier time of year, particularly in retail and hospitality.”

“While job ad levels traditionally tail-off in December as many take much deserved time off, we anticipate activity to pick back up again after the school holidays as we have seen in previous years,” Faulding continued.

Meanwhile, across metro areas, roles in Professional Services and Consumer Services continue to have the furthest to recover, showing a decline of 14% and 24% year-on-year, respectively.

Seek also found that the industries which continued to contribute to the highest growth in terms of job ad numbers in Q4 2020 were Information & Communication Technology (23%), Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics (21%) and Trades & Services (6%).