A record number of job ads was posted on one of the country's leading labour market websites last month.

The number of job ads rose 9 per cent month-on-month, which was 42 per cent up year-on-year and 36 per cent more than in January 2019, which was the year before the pandemic hit.

"Businesses returned quickly to the search for talent in the new year and by the second week of January ads were tracking 48 percent ahead year-on-year," says Seek country manager Rob Clark.

"Hirers are looking for talent, and it's a trend that we can expect to continue, but for now candidates are not applying in the volumes of old," he says, adding there are fewer people looking for work with a record low unemployment rate of 3.2 per cent.

There was only a slight increase in the record low number of applications per job ad at 0.4 per cent.

Jobs ads for information and communications technologies and trades and services roles were responsible for most of the new job ads on site, growing by 9 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.

However, there was a 5 per cent drop in the number of jobs ads in the consumer services sector, which included hospitality and tourism, retail and consumer services and sport and recreation.

Still, hospitality and tourism job ad numbers were up 66 per cent on the year earlier.

All regions recorded a year on year increase in job ads except for Gisborne which declined 7 per cent.

Auckland saw job ads grow by 10 per cent, while Canterbury was up 13 per cent, Northland (+11 per cent), Waikato (+8 per cent), and Wellington (+4 per cent).

-RNZ.