Public sector leads slowdown in March hiring activity

Hiring activity for public sector roles declined in March as the Government asks ministries and departments to cut costs. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The public sector led a decline in hiring activity in March, according to data from Seek.

However, the rate of decline has slowed considerably.

Seek NZ’s Employment Report for March found job ad volumes fell 0.4 per cent compared with February. This followed a 3 per cent decline in February.

“Job ad levels have been declining steadily since 2022, but it appears as though the rate of decline has slowed,” Seek country manager Rob Clark said.

“This reflects a notable slowdown in the rate of decline since the beginning of the year, where volumes have dropped just 3.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter – the slowest rate of decline to be recorded in almost twelve months.”

Job ad volumes are now down 27 per cent year-on-year, and 14 per cent down when compared with March 2019.

The decline in job ads was greatest in Wellington, where they have fallen 38 per cent compared with March 2023 and are down 26 per cent compared with March 2019.

“Public sector roles declined to the greatest degree [in March], which we know is due to a reduction in spending by ministries and agencies,” Clark said.

Hiring activity in healthcare and medical roles was down 5 per cent while education and training fell 12 per cent.

Both industries saw increased job ad volumes in February – 6 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Community services and development was the only industry in the public sector to record a rise in job ads in March, increasing 4 per cent from February.

Elsewhere there was notable growth for construction (up 3 per cent) and professional services roles – including human resources and recruitment (up 15 per cent); consulting and strategy (up 12 per cent); and legal (up 10 per cent).

Similar findings were captured in Trade Me’s jobs data last week, which showed job listings for roles in central government falling off a cliff - down 77.2 per cent year-on-year, and 34.1 per cent for the March quarter.

Public sector job cuts, proposed and confirmed, have soared above 2000 as the National Government asks ministries and departments to look for savings.

This includes the 1000 roles proposed to get the chop at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamarki - the Ministry for Children, announced last week.

However, as reported by the Herald, the public service expanded by 4.1 per cent in the last six months of 2023, adding a net of 2580 new employees.

Meanwhile, applications per job ad – already at record levels – remained steady in February (a lag month), recording no change from January, according to Seek.

It was the first time in five months that figure didn’t rise.

“Applications per job ad remain at extremely high levels, which is good news, but does present challenges for hirers to shortlist and identify the right candidates,” Clark said.

Retail and consumer products roles saw a 12 per cent jump in applications per job ad. This was up from an already elevated base.

There was minimal change to application levels for the biggest industries such as trades and services (up 1 per cent), manufacturing, transport and logistics (up 1 per cent) and healthcare and medical (down 2 per cent).

Cameron Smith is an Auckland-based journalist with the Herald business team. He joined the Herald in 2015 and has covered business and sports. He reports on topics including retail, small business, the workplace and macroeconomics.