New data released by SEEK today shows Auckland is leading new job numbers around the country. The SEEK Job Ad Index shows a 41.6% growth in new job ads in Auckland since July 2009.

Seasonally adjusted figures show that in January alone, the number of new job ads increased by 10.9% across the country, maintaining the upward trend observed since mid 2009. Auckland bolstered this number with 15.9% growth, while Wellington and Christchurch reveal more modest signs of improvement at 1.1% and 0.4% growth respectively.

SEEK General Manager Annemarie Duff explains that despite record unemployment figures reported last week, the news may be more positive than it looks;

"While the current unemployment rate seems alarming, this is based on October to December data, however today's data shows there are significant increases in job numbers, it'll just take some time for supply and demand to converge. "What we're seeing with the help of SEEK's data is a market picture that's a bit ahead of the game, revealing trends that can impact the market as a whole. It will be interesting to see how this could impact unemployment in the next quarter, particularly in Auckland, due to the recent rise in job ads."

New results also reveal that since July 2009, new job ads have increased by 31.4% in New Zealand compared to 26.2% in Australia, although in context New Zealand is coming from a much lower base.

Also showing signs of recovery is the SEEK Employment Index (SEI), which compares the ratio of new job ads placed with SEEK during the month to the number of applications for these jobs. Latest results show that the number of jobs advertised is increasing faster than the number of applications. The SEI rose by 6.7% in January, which is 17.6% higher than in July 2009.

Again this growth was most pronounced in Auckland. The SEI increased by 12% in Auckland and 4.6% in Wellington, where Christchurch experienced a significant decrease in the index of -9.3%.

As Duff concludes:

"The increase in number of new job ads coupled with the recovering SEI, provides evidence of rising labour demand and hopefully a more positive employment outlook this year."

There are currently over 11,300 jobs advertised on seek.co.nz.