Permanent job postings slipped by 27.2%
According to The Jobs Report by the Recruitment, Consulting & Staffing Association, job postings across New Zealand decreased by 26.7% in the 2022 December quarter when compared to the same time last year.
On a quarterly basis, the number of job postings fell by 22.4% in the last three months of 2022. The decline was driven by a significant decrease in business confidence. Demand remained strong until August but has declined month-on-month since then.
The report found that both permanent (-23.3%) and flexible job postings (-18.4%) fell in the last three months. On a year-on-year basis, permanent job postings slipped by 27.2% while flexible job postings declined by 24.4%.
“Traditionally, when business confidence falls, we see a transition from permanent to flexible arrangements to give employers greater flexibility should conditions deteriorate,” the RCSA stated. “This is not evident currently because many employers are still short staffed and need to build long term capacity.”
Ian McPherson, RCSA Councillor commented, “Both our government and the reserve bank have been talking about belt tightening. In some cases candidates and employers are holding off to see what happens over the next few months. People are moving away from job boards, particularly medium or small businesses. They don’t see the point in advertising when they can use their own channels or utilise their own referral schemes.
“To add to this, the media has been talking about a candidate shortage and the reliance on migrant labour. I think many businesses don’t see the value in advertising at the moment.”
“Christmas can be notoriously slow when it comes to hiring. With a lot of public holidays and downtime, it’s not uncommon for employers to wait out the period before seeking staff but Industry leaders admit, this year was particularly slow,” McPherson said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the next quarter’s data is similar or even quieter.”
The New Zealand Jobs Index is a measure of where job opportunities exist in the New Zealand employment market. Data is collected from employer, recruiter and niche job boards across New Zealand. Repeat advertisements on one site or across multiple sites are de-duplicated to avoid double counting. Artificial intelligence is used to code every job advertisement into a wide range of key fields from which detailed analysis is possible.
