Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the November 2025 month (compared with the October 2025 month) were:
- all industries - up 0.3 percent (6,569 jobs) to 2.35 million filled jobs
- primary industries - up 0.8 percent (890 jobs)
- goods-producing industries - up 0.1 percent (490 jobs)
- service industries - up 0.2 percent (4,124 jobs).
| "Month" | "Percentage change" |
| "Nov-22" | "0.16" |
| "Dec-22" | "-0.36" |
| "Jan-23" | "0.64" |
| "Feb-23" | "0.51" |
| "Mar-23" | "0.21" |
| "Apr-23" | "0.56" |
| "May-23" | "0.17" |
| "Jun-23" | "0.26" |
| "Jul-23" | "0.22" |
| "Aug-23" | "0" |
| "Sep-23" | "0.12" |
| "Oct-23" | "0.48" |
| "Nov-23" | "-0.34" |
| "Dec-23" | "-0.04" |
| "Jan-24" | "0.17" |
| "Feb-24" | "-0.01" |
| "Mar-24" | "0.07" |
| "Apr-24" | "-0.14" |
| "May-24" | "-0.37" |
| "Jun-24" | "-0.38" |
| "Jul-24" | "-0.24" |
| "Aug-24" | "-0.14" |
| "Sep-24" | "-0.14" |
| "Oct-24" | "-0.15" |
| "Nov-24" | "-0.03" |
| "Dec-24" | "-0.17" |
| "Jan-25" | "0.05" |
| "Feb-25" | "-0.11" |
| "Mar-25" | "-0.05" |
| "Apr-25" | "-0.26" |
| "May-25" | "-0.14" |
| "Jun-25" | "0.01" |
| "Jul-25" | "-0.03" |
| "Aug-25" | "0.02" |
| "Sep-25" | "0.11" |
| "Oct-25" | "-0.1" |
| "Nov-25" | "0.28" |
In November 2025, there were 2.37 million actual filled jobs, down 9,113 jobs (0.4 percent), compared with November 2024.
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2024 were in:
- construction - down 3.6 percent (7,172 jobs)
- health care and social assistance - up 1.8 percent (4,995 jobs)
- professional, scientific, and technical services - down 2.2 percent (4,198 jobs)
- manufacturing - down 1.6 percent (3,820 jobs)
- public administration and safety - up 2.1 percent (3,471 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2024 were in:
- Auckland - down 0.7 percent (6,038 jobs)
- Wellington - down 1.5 percent (3,767 jobs)
- Canterbury - up 0.7 percent (2,357 jobs)
- Manawatū-Whanganui - down 1.2 percent (1,332 jobs)
- Otago - up 0.7 percent (854 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In November 2025 compared with November 2024, the number of filled jobs fell by 0.8 percent (9,014 jobs) for men and fell by 0.5 percent (6,421 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs changes by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with November 2024 were in:
- 35 to 39 years - up 2.7 percent (7,650 jobs)
- 15 to 19 years - down 5.2 percent (6,822 jobs)
- 30 to 34 years - down 2.2 percent (6,415 jobs)
- 40 to 44 years - up 2.3 percent (5,753 jobs)
- 25 to 29 years - down 2.3 percent (5,702 jobs).
Gross earnings
On an accrual basis, the total gross earnings rose $380 million (2.4 percent) compared with November 2024. The total gross earnings for the November 2025 month were $15.9 billion.
About the data
The actual gross earnings in this release were calculated on an accrual basis, where earnings are allocated proportionally to the period in which they were 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.
Due to the shorter time series and minor revisions to data in the actual gross earnings series, the data is not directly comparable to calculations for monthly earnings on a cash basis (which covers the amount paid in the reference month).
Gross earnings on a cash basis can still be accessed on Infoshare.
Actual data published for employment indicators is provisional for three months to account for additional payday filing data being received.
We have made minor updates to the Employment indicators: July 2025 figures. Infoshare changes by date has more information on the series affected.
More data
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for:
Employment indicators
Subject category: Work, income, and spending
Group: Employment indicators - MEI
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.
Employment indicators concepts - DataInfo+ gives definitions of terms used in this release.
Technical enquiries
Xin Chen
[email protected]
04 931 4600
Next release
Employment indicators: December 2025 will be released on 28 January 2026.
