diff --git a/packages/project-management-automation/lib/add-first-time-contributor-label.js b/packages/project-management-automation/lib/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
index e185acbd46c4b..81f42ccc0dcb0 100644
--- a/packages/project-management-automation/lib/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
+++ b/packages/project-management-automation/lib/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
@@ -17,12 +17,12 @@ async function addFirstTimeContributorLabel( payload, octokit ) {
 
 	debug( `add-first-time-contributor-label: Searching for commits in ${ owner }/${ repo } by @${ author }` );
 
-	const { total_count: totalCount } = await octokit.search.commits( {
+	const { data: { total_count: totalCount } } = await octokit.search.commits( {
 		q: `repo:${ owner }/${ repo }+author:${ author }`,
 	} );
 
 	if ( totalCount !== 0 ) {
-		debug( 'add-first-time-contributor-label: Commits found. Aborting' );
+		debug( `add-first-time-contributor-label: ${ totalCount } commits found. Aborting` );
 		return;
 	}
 
diff --git a/packages/project-management-automation/lib/test/add-first-time-contributor-label.js b/packages/project-management-automation/lib/test/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
index 91eeb56dca339..ef7f65bf0909f 100644
--- a/packages/project-management-automation/lib/test/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
+++ b/packages/project-management-automation/lib/test/add-first-time-contributor-label.js
@@ -22,7 +22,11 @@ describe( 'addFirstTimeContributorLabel', () => {
 	it( 'does nothing if the user has commits', async () => {
 		const octokit = {
 			search: {
-				commits: jest.fn( () => Promise.resolve( { total_count: 100 } ) ),
+				commits: jest.fn( () => Promise.resolve( {
+					data: {
+						total_count: 100,
+					},
+				} ) ),
 			},
 			issues: {
 				addLabels: jest.fn(),
@@ -40,7 +44,11 @@ describe( 'addFirstTimeContributorLabel', () => {
 	it( 'adds the label if the user does not have commits', async () => {
 		const octokit = {
 			search: {
-				commits: jest.fn( () => Promise.resolve( { total_count: 0 } ) ),
+				commits: jest.fn( () => Promise.resolve( {
+					data: {
+						total_count: 0,
+					},
+				} ) ),
 			},
 			issues: {
 				addLabels: jest.fn(),