Hundreds applying for roles at Subway, a supermarket and drycleaners as job hunters swamp Canterbury employers

Saturday, 28 June 2025

Seek says there are fewer jobs advertised in Canterbury, and across much of New Zealand.

Hopeful job applicants are flooding employers’ inboxes in Canterbury, in the midst of a flat employment market and a shortage of work for young people.

Sixteen hundred people recently applied after a recruitment drive at the two big Christchurch civic facilities nearing completion - One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha and Parakiore recreation centre.

Two sandwich making jobs in the city drew more than 500 applications each, as have jobs at a supermarket, a drycleaner and a Mid-Canterbury farm.

About 850 people want to work at Christchurch’s Onew New Zealand Stadiuim, due to open in April.

The region’s unemployment rate is 4.8% according to StatsNZ’s latest data, with younger people remain over-represented with a rate of 16.9% for 15 to 24-year-olds.

Job website Seek.co said 2.2% fewer jobs are being advertised jobs in the region than a year ago, compared with a drop of 8% nationally and 13% in Auckland. Wellington was the only region with a rise in job ads.

Hospitality and retail positions are proving especially sought after.

Subway Papanui in Christchurch topped the region’s list in the past year, according to Trade Me, with 674 people chasing a sandwich artist role.

The store’s manager, Laura Kelly, said the number of applicants was no surprise because people thought the job would be easy.

“They think it’s just standing out front and making things, but it can be very stressful.

“These days there’s a lot of people looking for a job, and not a lot of jobs around. It’s the cost of living - a lot of people are looking for work.”

Two Subway outlets in Christchurch has hundreds of applicants for sandwich making positions.

Kelly said a lot of the applicants are university students or mothers wanting work during school hours. But a huge number come from overseas, with people looking to gain a work permit or residency, she said.

The second most sought-after job according to Trade Me was a farm worker role in Mid-Canterbury with 670 applications. A job at Eastern Drycleaners in Christchurch, Fresh Choice Supermarket on Lichfield St, and Subway in Riccarton all drew more than 500 responses.

Jayden Turpin, 27, has worked in many sectors including farming, but is now picking up labouring work in Christchurch.

About 4.8% of Cantabrians are unemployed, with younger people most affected.

“I did try and get back into dairy farming this year, but it was too hard,” he said.

“They were getting more than 100 applicants and they said they were getting swamped, it was pretty unreal.”

Turpin said the amount of work available fluctuates, but he normally finds something because he is flexible and keen.

Parakiore has had hundreds of job applicants. The Christchurch sport and recreation centre opens later this year.

“I don’t really mind what I do. Some people aren’t open to different jobs - it’s up to the individual.”

Christchurch’s Parakiore sport and recreation centre, due to open in December, will need 200 staff. It has so far advertised 48 positions and has received 830 applications.

Council recreation, sports and events head Nigel Cox said they have filled 10 leadership roles and are taking applications for supervisor and lifeguards roles.

Venues Ōtautahi chief executive Caroline Harvie-Tearem says they want to double their casual workforce.

He said the majority of applications have come from within New Zealand, with some interest from overseas.

“Parakiore will be an exciting place to work and, at this stage, we’ve had strong interest across the advertised roles.”

One New Zealand Stadium, due to open in April, received 853 applications since advertising for casual event staff a fortnight ago.

Trade Me says some jobs attract several hundred applicants.

The venue’s operator, city council company Venues Ōtautahi, also manages venues such as Wolfbrook Area, the Town Hall and Hagley Oval, and wants to more than double its casual workforce from 450 to almost 1000 before the stadium opening.

Chief executive Caroline Harvie-Teare said the applications mirrored the demographic of the existing staff pool - from 15 to 17-year-old high schoolers, university students, full-time workers seeking another job, caregivers wanting flexible hours, and the semi-retired.

They are looking for people to wait tables, do bar service, scan tickets, assist with seating, cook food, set up events and venues, and brew coffee.

Harvie-Teare said with such significant interest, they plan to establish an academy to train and develop staff and provide a pool of regular workers for the future.

StatsNZ data puts the number of employed workers in Canterbury at 315,000, the same as a year ago despite an increase in population. The unemployment rates are 17% for teens, ranging up to 1.6% for those over 55.

ChristchurchNZ’s most recent economic briefing says manufacturing output and dairying industries are in strong shape, while the service sector is contracting.

Overall the economy is flat, in comparison to a slight downturn nationally. This is despite Canterbury gaining 1595 more businesses in the past year, an increase of 1.8%. A quarter of New Zealand’s growth in the number of businesses has been in Canterbury.

According to this week’s Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index, confidence in Christchurch that employment will improve in the next 12 months has dropped slightly in the past three months.

Salaries advertised for Canterbury jobs on seek have risen 2.2% on average in the past year.

Across the South Island, salary growth have been slightly smaller than in the North Island, except Wellington.

Nationally, the biggest increases for advertised salaries were for science and technology jobs, followed by real estate and property, then mining, resources and energy.