Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the November 2023 month (compared with the October 2023 month) were:
- all industries - up 0.1 percent (1,324 jobs) to 2.39 million filled jobs
- primary industries - up 0.4 percent (412 jobs)
- goods-producing industries - up 0.2 percent (969 jobs)
- service industries - flat (up 118 jobs).
| Month | Percentage change |
| Nov-20 | -0.3 |
| Dec-20 | 0.8 |
| Jan-21 | -0.2 |
| Feb-21 | 0.3 |
| Mar-21 | 0.4 |
| Apr-21 | 0.2 |
| May-21 | 0.2 |
| Jun-21 | 0.6 |
| Jul-21 | 0.4 |
| Aug-21 | 0.5 |
| Sep-21 | 0.2 |
| Oct-21 | 0.2 |
| Nov-21 | 0.4 |
| Dec-21 | 0.1 |
| Jan-22 | 0.4 |
| Feb-22 | -0.4 |
| Mar-22 | -0.3 |
| Apr-22 | 0.3 |
| May-22 | 0.1 |
| Jun-22 | 0.3 |
| Jul-22 | 0.4 |
| Aug-22 | 0.4 |
| Sep-22 | 0.3 |
| Oct-22 | 0.1 |
| Nov-22 | 0.3 |
| Dec-22 | -0.5 |
| Jan-23 | 0.9 |
| Feb-23 | 0.5 |
| Mar-23 | 0.4 |
| Apr-23 | 0.4 |
| May-23 | 0 |
| Jun-23 | 0.2 |
| Jul-23 | 0.2 |
| Aug-23 | 0 |
| Sep-23 | 0.1 |
| Oct-23 | 0.4 |
| Nov-23 | 0.1 |
The following figures compare November 2023 actual values with November 2022.
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2022 were in:
- health care and social assistance - up 5.5 percent (14,430 jobs)
- public administration and safety - up 7.0 percent (10,786 jobs)
- transport, postal, and warehousing - up 7.6 percent (7,077 jobs)
- accommodation and food services - up 4.1 percent (6,389 jobs)
- education and training - up 3.1 percent (6,331 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2022 were in:
- Auckland - up 3.8 percent (30,176 jobs)
- Canterbury - up 2.5 percent (7,846 jobs)
- Waikato - up 2.1 percent (4,808 jobs)
- Bay of Plenty - up 3.2 percent (4,655 jobs)
- Wellington - up 1.4 percent (3,620 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In November 2023 compared with November 2022, the number of filled jobs rose by 2.4 percent (27,847 jobs) for men and rose by 1.7 percent (20,241 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2022 were in:
- 35-39 years - up 9.3 percent (23,171 jobs)
- 30-34 years - up 7.0 percent (19,603 jobs)
- 40-44 years - up 7.1 percent (16,215 jobs)
- 15-19 years - down 8.0 percent (12,528 jobs)
- 65+ years - up 6.0 percent (7,297 jobs).
Gross earnings
Actual gross earnings on an accrual basis for the November 2023 month were $15.3 billion, compared with $14.2 billion for the November 2022 month.
There are two different ways of calculating total monthly earnings. The first is with earnings paid on a cash basis. It covers the amount paid in the reference month. The second is calculated on an accrual basis where earnings are allocated proportionally to the period in which it was earned. The accrual method removes the volatility of monthly data, for example a fortnightly pay period might occur twice in some months and three times in other months. This series will not be directly comparable to the cash basis due to a shorter time series and minor revisions in the back data.
Gross earnings on a cash basis can still be accessed with Infoshare.
More data
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for:
Employment indicators
Subject category: Work, income, and spending
Group: Employment indicators - MEI
Tables:
- Age and region by variable (monthly)
- High level industry by variable (monthly)
- High level industry by variable (qrtly-Feb/May/Aug/Nov)
- High level industry by variable (qrtly-Mar/Jun/Sep/Dec)
- High level industry by variable (qrtly-Jan/Apr/Jul/Oct)
- Industry by variable (monthly)
- Region by variable (monthly)
- Sex and age by variable (monthly)
- Sex and region by variable (monthly)
Note that due to a small portion of uncoded data, there will be small differences in the sum for filled jobs by region, age, sex, and the value for total New Zealand.
Definitions and metadata
Employment indicators - DataInfo+ provides general methodology and definitions relevant for employment statistics.
Technical enquiries
Sue Chapman
03 964 8371
[email protected]
Next release
Employment indicators: December 2023 will be released on 29 January 2024.
