Drop in job advertisements
Online job advertisements decreased by 0.6 per cent in the June 2019 quarter, compared to the March 2019 quarter’s 0.1 per cent increase, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's (MBIE) latest statistics.
Among the nine industry groups, for the quarter, the decrease was across all industries except for the primary and health care sectors.
Online advertisements for the primary sector grew the fastest in Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Otago. The largest increase in health care advertisements was in Bay of Plenty.
The largest reductions in online advertising over the quarter came from the machinery operators and drivers occupation group, followed by the technicians and trades occupation group.
Over the year to June 2019, the only increase in online advertisements by broad skill level groupings was for highly-skilled occupations.
Over the quarter, there was a fall in advertised vacancies. However, there was growth in Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Manawatu - Whanganui andTaranaki.
Over the year, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay and Wellington were the main growth regions, partially offsetting the decrease in Canterbury.
More detailed analysis
From July 2019, MBIE’s jobs online data series will be published quarterly.
"A significant change to the report is that it will now include a more detailed analysis of the changes in the regions," said the ministry in a statement. "Reporting quarterly rather than monthly enables more meaningful insights and trends based on a detailed analysis of three months of data and reducing the reporting of less significant, short-term monthly fluctuations."
"Previously a high-level summary of trend data was published monthly, with comprehensive analysis and report issued quarterly."
The quarterly reports will be published in the final week of July, October, January and April respectively.
Complex relationship between advertisements and demand
The relationship between job advertisements and labour demand is complex, particularly when disaggregated at an industry, occupation and regional level.
For example, an increase in job advertisements by a particular industry may indicate the industry is expanding and looking for new workers, or the industry has a high rate of churn (workers are moving between businesses, but overall employment is not necessarily increasing).
Likewise, declining job advertising can signal reduced headcount in an industry, or the industry is using alternatives to advertising in their hiring process (such as word-of-mouth or social networks).
