Eight applicants for every entry-level job: Canterbury students squeezed in tight market

Tuesday, 28 July 2026

Canterbury students say they are facing unprecedented competition for even entry-level work, with an average of eight job-seekers applying for each vacancy on one job site.

New data from tertiary student and recent graduate-oriented careers platform Student Job Search (SJS) has shown that the financial year ending June 2026 produced the highest number of job applications in its 40-year history.

Across the country, 434,000 job-seekers applied for just 53,000 vacancies, an average of just over eight for each position.

Canterbury has fared a little better than other parts of the country. About 69,000 people applied for 8800 positions, an average of just under eight per job.

The number of vacancies has been rising too, up 30% on its pre-pandemic figure, although this hasn’t kept pace with the rising number of applicants - up 90% on the 2019 financial year.

In the student centres of Wellington and Waikato, vacancies have declined and the average number of applicants is sitting closer to nine per job.

Recent University of Canterbury graduate Cathleen Wang has applied for more than 100 jobs across Canterbury in the past three months, but has secured only two interviews despite spending about 20 hours a week searching for work.

Wang graduated in April with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Human Services, and a minor in Youth and Community Leadership. The 24-year-old grew up in Christchurch, and said her long-term goal was to work in local government, advocating for young people and multicultural communities.

“There are new jobs on Seek every day, but there are not lots of jobs for young people. Some of them just never come back to you.”

The difficulty of finding work was one of the reasons she decided to continue her education. She is currently studying part-time towards a Bachelor of Social Work with Honours and may continue into a Masters degree if she cannot find a job.

“I feel like the job market is very hard at the moment. The more qualifications I get, the more likely employers can trust graduates.” .

Despite completing internships and volunteering with community organisations, Wang said many employers were still seeking candidates with previous experience, “which is pretty hard for new graduates”.

Competition for even casual roles had been intense. Wang recently applied for a position at an escape room and was told there were more than 500 applicants. She reached the final three, but ultimately missed out.

“The emails are always automatic and they don’t really acknowledge the effort that you put into it,” she said.

The repeated rejections have been discouraging, but Wang said she was determined to keep trying.

“There are definitely some down times … Job hunting is hard, but we need to persevere and never give up.”

University of Canterbury Students' Association (UCSA) president Tumaru Mataio said they were seeing more students seeking both food support and help with financial hardship.

Her advice was to make the best possible use of any finances that learners could access.

“Making every dollar count, seeing if you are eligible for any financial support through all avenues and of course, if there is a scholarship you think you might be good for you, just apply because you never know.”

While many Kiwis were doing it tough, Mataio said students had chosen to take on financial debt “because of the job opportunities that are supposed to come after doing a degree”.

“But that outcome has really changed.”

The Government’s move to end the final year fees-free subsidy was the “exact sort of thing that is going to see many students with more debt”, she said, making a degree seem like a less feasible option.

Students advised to ‘persist’ and get creative

Student Job Search chief executive Louise Saviker said Ministry of Education data showed working while studying was now the norm.

“Pretty much everybody wants to or needs to work …

“Students need it not just for the money to survive, but they also need it for the experience … Because employers are also now saying that they need far more work-ready graduates.”

Saviker said many graduates were holding onto casual positions.

“As a consequence they're in a way tying up jobs that normally a student would do.”

Although it was tough for students graduating right now, her recommendation was to “persist”.

“We do see that students do get a job eventually. They do need to really think carefully about what they're applying for, but also being more open to different opportunities - because we do often see that it's just a foot in the door at times you need.”

Tertiary providers say support available in tough job market

A University of Canterbury spokesperson said it had a Centre for Employability and Career Development, which offered support to students looking for part-time or summer work, internships, and graduate roles.

It had not seen a significant increase in students seeking support to find part-time work compared to previous years, they said.

“However, we acknowledge that many graduates face a competitive environment when they apply for permanent full-time roles in their field of study.”

Still, its 2025 Graduate Destinations Survey showed 91% were either employed or in further study within a year of graduating, with 86% either finding work in their ideal field, or making steps in the right direction.

For those struggling, their career development centre could help with job-search strategies, CVs and cover letters, and job interviews.

Ara’s strategy, planning and performance director Hayley Devoy said they recognised the current economic environment was creating additional pressure for some learners, “including those looking for part-time work that fits around study, placements, childcare and other commitments”.

“However, application numbers reported by job-search platforms need to be interpreted carefully,” she said.

“Applications do not equate to individual applicants, and the figures do not show whether applicants’ qualifications, experience or availability matched the positions advertised.”

Only 86 of Ara’s 12,004-strong student population had accessed hardship support so far this year, just 0.7%.

But Devoy noted Ara was an applied-learning institution, with many students “earning while they learn”, through apprenticeships, placements, or undertaking projects directly connected with employers and industry.