NZ job adds: help wanted - ANZ

Analysts at ANZ offered a review of NZ Jobs ads that lifted for a third consecutive month in April (seasonally adjusted), and appear to have an accelerating upward trend.

Key Quotes:

Job ads lifted 1.7% in April (seasonally adjusted), building on a 3.1% rise in March. Total job advertising is up 4.6% versus a year ago (3-month average), with annual growth rising.

Internet job advertising lifted 2.9% (sa) in April, while newspaper job advertising, which is much more volatile, fell 12.7% m/m (sa). It remains on a downward trend as newspapers continue to lose market share.

The regions are seeing convergence, with jobs ads growth in Hawke’s Bay continuing to recede to more sustainable rates after a huge surge, and growth in job ads elsewhere on the up. Job ads are higher than a year ago everywhere except Canterbury, with Auckland leading with double-digit growth.

Job ads data suggests that the New Zealand labour market remains fairly strong. It is a question of when, not if, this flows into an acceleration in wage growth."