Immigration News:
Applications per job ad hit new low, jobseekers in the drivers seat
"Number of job adverts remains high but applications per job vacancy are low."
For the fifth month in a row, the latest SEEK NZ Employment Report shows a record-breaking number of jobs advertised on seek.co.nz, however applications per job ad continue to decline.
Rob Clark, Country Manager, SEEK NZ comments: “There are plenty of job opportunities available for jobseekers right now, with significant growth across some of our major industries and regions.
“Businesses looking to hire should consider what they can do to secure the best talent in a competitive market. SEEK research shows Kiwis have fully embraced flexibility, which is the most sought-after benefit when applying for a new job.
“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.”
STATE OF THE REGIONS: A MIXED RESULT ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Throughout the regions, job ad volumes drew a mixed result for July.
Rob Clark continues: “The larger metropolitan areas of Auckland and Canterbury saw job ad volume growth of 2% and 5% respectively month-on-month.
“While key regional areas including Taranaki and Gisborne also saw some positive growth of 14% and 12% respectively, other regions saw a drop month-on-month such as Southland and Otago by 4% and 7%. 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% more roles and Otago had 29%.”
*Work perks research is independent research conducted by Nature on behalf of SEEK. Interviewing 4,000 Kiwis annually and 333 per month.
Table 1: National and major regions job ad growth/decline comparing July 2021 to: i) June 2021 (m/m) ii) July 2020 (y/y) and iii) July 2019 – all regions listed in table at the end of this release.
Figure 1: National SEEK NZ Job Ad percentage change by region (July 2021 vs June 2021)
STATE OF THE INDUSTRIES: TRADES, MANUFACTURING & TECHNOLOGY GROWING
Although the Trades & Services, Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics and Information & Communication Technology industries did not necessarily make a positive contribution to job ad growth for July, they offered the largest opportunity for jobseekers in New Zealand.
Rob Clark continues: “Right now we have almost 10,000 jobs on seek.co.nz in the Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, Information & Communication Technology and Trades and Services sectors. These industries are some of New Zealand’s largest, so while job ad growth declined overall for the month, they still continued to make up a large percentage of jobs available right now.”
Some roles in Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, Information & Communication Technology and Trades & Services, include:
Figure 2: National SEEK NZ Job Ad percentage change by industry (July 2021 vs June 2021)
What does this mean for our clients:
Do not! as in do not saturate the market with a bad application. Less candidates in the job advert means more time for employers to review their documents.
Bad application = bad impression.
This also means that employers now are going to be more creative in their recruitment. This may mean that they may be open to networking opportunities.
