Following steady new job ad growth over the past few months, new SEEK data released today reveals some signs of the national job market levelling with both job applications and job ads down by 3.8%. However, as General Manager of SEEK New Zealand Annemarie Duff explains, following last month's reported increase of 6.8% overall the trend is still job growth.

"There has been really encouraging signs of growth in all areas of the job market. What we are now seeing is supply and demand beginning to even out, and it's important to note that, while there's a slight decrease in jobs this month, the demand for those jobs in the form of applications has also fallen, and we still have 33% more jobs on SEEK compared to a year ago."

Regionally, Christchurch was the only city to have seen growth this month in the number of job ads posted with a rise of 2.9% in August, and a rise of 12.1% since August 2009.

However, with the recent earthquake, dramatic changes are expected in the job market over the coming weeks and months.

"These are uncertain times as businesses assess damage and carry out repairs. One positive in all this is the opportunity to build new and better workplaces, and we do expect to see some employment growth out of that - for starters there will be a real need for skilled tradespeople in that region," says Ms Duff.

Ms Duff continues, "The general feeling from specialist trade recruiters is that there is spare capacity in the building industry and the repair work will keep many companies busy. Major civil and construction projects will start which will help keep Canterbury tradespeople in employment".

Julie Cressy, Madison Recruitment manager for the Christchurch region says it's too soon to tell what the total job market prognosis will be;

"At this stage we are unsure of the long term implications, and there won't be a clear picture until the aftershocks stop and the full extent of the damage can be seen."

"The key for workplaces is communication with your employees. Even if you don't know what the future of your business will be, keeping employees informed and coming together to enable workplaces to reopen will ensure the best possible chance of recovery," continues Ms Cressy.