According to the latest SEEK employment report, job advertisements increased by 0.9% in February—marking the ninth consecutive monthly rise and lifting annual ad growth to 12.2%, the strongest year‑on‑year increase since 2022.
SEEK country manager Rob Clark pointed out that sectors leading this turnaround include construction, engineering and farming.
“If you track the last 18 months, we had a significant decline in job advertising, then it was pretty flat, and now we’re seeing growth,” Clark said.
“What that says is that people are a bit more optimistic; they’re seeing some more growth opportunities, and typically that translates to hiring more people, and because we’re seeing it across most industries and most geographies, that implies that it’s a genuine market movement.”
Job seekers are also facing less competition per listing, with applications per ad dropping 2.4% from January, retreating off last year’s peak.
Only a handful of sectors remain in decline — namely, retail and consumer products, and banking and financial services — while all of the largest sectors showed improvement in the latest report.
Looking at longer‑term trends, Clark said roles in engineering, farming, construction, trades and healthcare are all growing at about 20% year‑on‑year.
While there is cautious uncertainty about whether this momentum will continue, particularly amid international geopolitical risks. The data suggests that job growth is broadening in rural and regional areas, with South Island regions like Otago (+23%), Southland (+21.3%), West Coast (+20.9%) and Canterbury (+20%) leading the way.
Clark attributed this to the strength of agricultural sectors and internal migration toward regions with more opportunities. Urban centres such as Auckland and Wellington showed little momentum by comparison.