The number of people applying for jobs rose for a second consecutive month in November as the number of jobs on offer continues to shrink.
Employment firm Seek said applications per job ad rose 4% in October and were now at the highest level it had recorded.
Job ads fell by 5% month-on-month, and were 28% lower than the same time a year ago.
Retail and consumer products recorded a downward trend in hiring.
Retail ads retreated 12% in November, while hospitality and tourism fell 9%.
Seek country manager Rob Clark said hirers were spoilt for choice with strong levels of competition among applicants.
"Retail and consumer products, and hospitality and tourism, were the lead contributors to the decline in November," Clark said.
"While it is expected that hiring within these industries would slow down at the end of the year, retail and consumer products in particular has been recording a downward trend in hiring for the past three months."
Cities continued to lead the downturn in the labour market with ad volumes falling to a greater degree in the metro areas compared to the smaller regions.
Job ads fell by 7% in Wellington in November, while listings in Auckland dropped 6%.
The monthly decline was not across the board, however, as Manawatū, Southland and Gisborne recorded small increases in job ad volumes month-on-month.
"When compared to the same time last year, Gisborne is the only region where job ads have increased, up 9% from November 2022," he said. "All other regions have declined after the great job boom of 2022."
The sharp annual decrease in listings experienced in Wellington was 32%, closely followed by Auckland down 31%.
Job ads were 29% lower in Waikato compared to the same time a year ago, and down 25% in Canterbury compared to last November.
"Candidates will have to work harder to stand out amongst the strong level of competition," Clark said.
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