New Zealand sees upward trend in job postings driven by seasonal hiring
Job ads with AI-related keywords posted an annual 93.3% growth in August, according to the latest data from SEEK NZ, amid a broader upward trend in job postings last month.
Findings from SEEK NZ showed that the volume of job postings rose 0.6% month-on-month and 9.7% year-on-year, with applications per job posting rising 0.9% month-on-month in July.
"Nationally, all trends were pointing upwards in August, with monthly and annual job ad trends rising and, contrarily, applications per job ad also increasing, despite being spread across a rising number of opportunities," said Rob Clark, SEEK NZ country manager, in a statement.
Job ads referencing AI skills in New Zealand also surged by 93.3% annually and 4.4% monthly.
Job ads with high-automation exposure are now 0.1% lower year-on-year, while those with medium or low exposure are still rising, according to SEEK NZ.
Job ads for HR roles
According to the report, job ads for human resources roles also went up, with a 0.8% monthly increase and 17.5% annual growth.
Despite the growth, the SEEK NZ report indicated that hiring activity for high-automation roles, such as Human Resources Clerks, was subdued.
"The rise of AI may be one factor in the subdued hiring activity for these high-automation roles... but is unlikely to be the only contributing factor," the report read.
For other sectors, SEEK NZ findings indicated that seasonal hiring industries were among the drivers of the country's job ads growth.
"Key seasonal hiring industries drove the overall increase in job ads, with Hospitality & Tourism and Retail & Consumer Products roles jumping over three per cent, respectively," Clark said.
"With our data seasonally adjusted, this solid rise in both industries highlights distinct demand for these workers, over and above what we would expect to see even at this time of year, when we know more businesses are hiring ahead of a busy summer and holiday period."
Advertised salaries growth falls short
Meanwhile, SEEK NZ also reported that annual advertised salaries grew 2.6% year-on-year in August, with a 0.6% quarterly increase.
Clark, however, pointed out that this is below annual inflation figures.
"Annually, advertised salaries grew 2.6% year-on-year, with the rate of growth trending upwards since August 2025," the SEEK NZ country manager said.
"While this is encouraging, the growth is below annual inflation of 4.1%, so workers may be doing it tough with their purchasing power going backwards."
Salaries for advertised HR and recruitment positions were among the roles that saw an increase, posting a 1.2% annual growth and 0.8% quarterly growth.
On other industries, the government logged the fastest annual advertised salary growth of any industry at 10% year-on-year, nearly four times the national average.
"Most industries have seen an increase in advertised salary growth over the year to August, most notably Government roles, followed by Banking & Financial Services. This could signal that demand for technical roles is picking up," Clark said.
By region, Canterbury posted the fastest growth of all regions, with a 3.3% annual and 0.7% quarterly growth.
"Canterbury recorded the fastest growth of all regions both quarterly and annually, likely due to the strong labour market demand the region is experiencing," Clark said.
Wellington and Auckland saw a 1.8% and a 2.2% yearly growth, respectively, with both regions recording a 0.6% quarterly increase in August.
