Job listings on TradeMe dropped during the first six months of the year, but there have been signs since then that the volume of advertisements is beginning to pick up.
The number of full-time or part-time jobs advertised dropped to 48,000 during the first half of the year, a fall of 30% compared with the second half of 2008.
The head of TradeMe Jobs, Jimmy McGee, says Wellington and Auckland were hit particularly hard.
Since the start of July, however, there has been an increase in job listing volumes, which Mr McGee says gives cause for optimism about the next six months.
Mr McGee says wages on offer have also increased slightly and demand is still strong for highly skilled roles.
Over the first six months of the year, the biggest decrease in job listings was in construction-related areas such as drafting and site managers, while the largest increases were in health and education jobs.
