Three New Zealand regions recorded consecutive increased job advertisements published in newspapers last month, including in the Otago Daily Times.
The ANZ NZ Job Ads series, published yesterday, showed that Waikato, Hawkes Bay and Otago managed consecutive increases in their newspaper advertisements. The outlier was Manawatu, which again fell.
With the marked exception of Canterbury, newspaper job advertisement numbers around the country had been gently trending down in recent years, as newspapers lost market share to internet job search engines.
ANZ-National Bank senior economist Sharon Zollner said the nationally adjusted series rose 0.9% in August, following a 0.7% rise in July.
The monthly rise was driven by a 1.5% lift in internet job advertisements, partly offset by a 2.6% fall in newspaper listings - both seasonally adjusted.
The "composite" total, which weighted newspapers more heavily to give a better indicator for the unemployment rate, fell 0.5%, indicating unemployment would remain about 7% for the next six months.
Newspaper advertisements had continued to trend down since the recession-related plummet was arrested in mid-2009, Ms Zollner said.
"Internet ads have regained around half their losses, but this must be seen in the context of an increasing market share versus newspapers. By any measure, job ads suggest that the labour market recovery since the recession has been relatively tepid."
