Data from SEEK has shown that September’s big jump in job advertising has been followed by softer months, essentially giving up those gains. Overall, November’s print levels fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.8 per cent, after easing back 0.3 per cent in October. This has all but flattened off the trend measure, advancing just 0.1 per cent in November.
The trend was further emphasised through the annual rate of increase subsiding to -1.0 per cent, while the seasonally adjusted index was down 0.8 per cent compared to November 2018.
The softness in job advertising has been associated with a loss of momentum in Wellington. The capital city has been central in driving business over the last many years, but its job ads fell a seasonally adjusted 2.3 per cent in November. This dragged its annual growth down to 2.9 per cent, having peaked at 23.1 per cent back in February. Auckland, on the other hand, was doing its best to maintain a moderately positive trend increase.
Various industries have been identified as undermining the overall results including banking & financial services, construction, health & medical, and science & technology. These are all predominantly service sector segments of the economy.
SEEK have also noted weakness in the new monthly filled-jobs series published by Statistics New Zealand. This decreased 0.4 per cent in October, after easing 0.3 per cent in September. This reduced its annual rate of growth to 0.9 per cent – warning that the Q4 Household Labour Force Survey results might be patchy.
