A new survey shows short-staffed businesses are yet to see the benefits of a two-year high in annual net migration levels, with 90 percent of businesses struggling to find workers.

The annual skills shortage survey by the Employment and Manufacturers Association (EMA) surveyed just over 540 businesses, only 12 percent of which said they had no current vacancies.

It comes as new Stats NZ data showed a 0.4 percent monthly rise in the number of jobs filled and an increase in the number of new businesses.

Just under half of respondents to the EMA survey planned to use migrants to fill staffing gaps but many complained the visa process was difficult to navigate.

The EMA's head of advocacy and strategy Alan McDonald said despite a jump in annual net immigration levels - Stats NZ data showed an annual net migration gain of 33,200 people in 2022 - that had yet to trickle down to job applicants.

McDonald said immigration staff were still working through major Covid-related backlogs and it was taking too long for workers to get into the country.

"The December migration figure was a net gain of just under 16,000 people, and a lot of that would have been seasonal workers rather than permanent workers," he said.

"The issue that we're seeing and that's reflected in that number of people or employers looking for highly skilled people, is that it's still very hard to find highly skilled workers."

Of the businesses surveyed, 71 percent said highly skilled roles were proving to be the most difficult to fill.

"We're in a worldwide talent war, I guess is the way to say it, and we're no longer regarded as a great place to come and live and work," McDonald said.

He said New Zealand needed to streamline its entry process so businesses could compete with the likes of Australia and Canada for skilled migrant workers.

A third of those surveyed had been advertising vacancies for more than half a year.

Businesses also said they noticed a significant drop in literacy and numeracy skills among domestic job seekers.

The number of job applicants lacking in basic literacy and numeracy skills had more than doubled in the past year, with the number of applicants lacking the skills rising from 19-22 percent last year to 43-44 percent, businesses said.

They said 83 percent of applicants' communication skills were not up to scratch.

"It's always been an issue for employers, but it seems to be getting steadily worse," McDonald said.

"That means young people, in particular, are heading into the workforce and they're just not ready, so employers are having to spend more time money and effort bringing those people up to up to suitable levels to have them engaged as a good part of the workforce."