Job ads on job board Seek New Zealand were up by 193% in May 2021 when compared to May 2020 (during the beginning of the pandemic) and were up 24% when compared to May 2019.

When compared to the previous month, job ads were up 5% in May.

Janet Faulding, General Manager, Seek New Zealand said, “The hirer demand has continued for a third consecutive month in May as New Zealand hit another record-high. Job ads increased by 5% month-on-month and are almost triple the volume that they were this time last year with job listings reaching just under 32,000.”

“May 2020 was the beginning of our long Covid-19 recovery, as New Zealand moved from Alert Level 3 to Alert Level 2,” Faulding said. “One year on, we have record-high job ad numbers on seek.co.nz but there is a notable decrease in applications per job ad, falling 11% month-on-month for the second month in a row.”

“There are several factors behind this decline, including the need for job stability. Employed Kiwis are prioritising job security and remain uncertain about moving to a new job at this time,” Faulding said.

Yesterday Seek published its job ad data for Australia, showing a 164.4% year-on-year increase in May 2021.