New Zealand's job advertisement volumes rose 10.7% year-on-year in June, reaching their highest level in more than two years, with regional areas outpacing the main cities.
New Zealand's employment market is showing steady but uneven recovery, according to the latest data from SEEK NZ. Job advertisement volumes in June were 10.7% higher than the same month a year earlier — the strongest annual reading in more than two years — even as the number of applications per vacancy continued to ease.
Job ads at two-year high
The SEEK NZ Employment Report for June showed job ad volumes rose 0.2% month-on-month in June, extending a continuous climb that began in December 2024. The 10.7% annual increase puts advertised vacancies at their highest point since mid-2024.
The figures come as the next official labour market release from Stats NZ — covering the June 2026 quarter — is due on 5 August. The most recent official data, for the March 2026 quarter, showed the unemployment rate at 5.3%, down slightly from 5.4% in the December 2025 quarter, with 163,000 people unemployed out of a workforce of 3.05 million.
Construction and regions lead the way
Growth in advertised vacancies was broad-based. The industrial and construction sectors led monthly gains in June, with construction worker vacancies rising 35.1% year-on-year — the fastest annual growth of any industry tracked by SEEK.
Regional New Zealand continued to outperform the main metropolitan centres. Southland recorded the strongest annual growth at 23.3%, followed by Otago at 20.6% and Canterbury at 21.5%. Taranaki posted a 30.4% annual gain, driven by mining, resources and energy hiring.
In contrast, Auckland's monthly movement was negative — down 0.4% in June — though still 5.0% higher than a year earlier. Wellington posted 0.9% monthly growth and 11.1% annually, but SEEK noted the capital was still working through structural adjustments following significant public sector staffing changes in recent years.
Slow hiring activity in some sectors
Not all sectors shared the uplift. Applications per job ad — recorded with a one-month lag — were flat in May and have been gradually easing since their mid-2025 peak. SEEK described the competitive environment for jobseekers as elevated, though improving from its highs.
"The recovery is steady, broadening geographically and deepening in some of the largest industries," SEEK country manager Rob Clark said. "Activity in the regions is particularly encouraging, driven primarily by the industrial and construction sectors, while small pockets of the professional and consumer services sectors continue to navigate slower hiring activity."
AI roles surge
One notable trend in the June data was the rapid growth in vacancies referencing artificial intelligence skills. Such job ads rose 3.9% month-on-month and were 107.3% higher than a year earlier, reflecting expanding demand for AI-related capabilities across the economy.
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