Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the March 2025 month (compared with the February 2025 month) were:
- all industries - up 0.2 percent (3,548 jobs) to 2.36 million filled jobs
- primary industries - up 0.4 percent (462 jobs)
- goods-producing industries - up 0.1 percent (453 jobs)
- service industries - up 0.2 percent (2,762 jobs).
| "Month" | "Percentage change" |
| "Mar-22" | "-0.4" |
| "Apr-22" | "0.4" |
| "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" | "-0.3" |
| "Jan-23" | "0.6" |
| "Feb-23" | "0.5" |
| "Mar-23" | "0.2" |
| "Apr-23" | "0.5" |
| "May-23" | "0.1" |
| "Jun-23" | "0.3" |
| "Jul-23" | "0.2" |
| "Aug-23" | "0" |
| "Sep-23" | "0.1" |
| "Oct-23" | "0.4" |
| "Nov-23" | "-0.2" |
| "Dec-23" | "0" |
| "Jan-24" | "0.2" |
| "Feb-24" | "0" |
| "Mar-24" | "0" |
| "Apr-24" | "-0.2" |
| "May-24" | "-0.4" |
| "Jun-24" | "-0.4" |
| "Jul-24" | "-0.3" |
| "Aug-24" | "-0.1" |
| "Sep-24" | "-0.1" |
| "Oct-24" | "-0.3" |
| "Nov-24" | "0.2" |
| "Dec-24" | "-0.1" |
| "Jan-25" | "0.1" |
| "Feb-25" | "0" |
| "Mar-25" | "0.2" |
The following figures compare March 2025 actual values with March 2024:
- Filled jobs were 2.37 million, down 34,542 (1.4 percent).
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with March 2024 were in:
- construction - down 6.1 percent (12,606 jobs)
- administrative and support services - down 5.7 percent (6,284 jobs)
- professional, scientific, and technical services - down 3.1 percent (5,887 jobs)
- manufacturing - down 2.2 percent (5,198 jobs)
- health care and social assistance - up 1.7 percent (4,800 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with March 2024 were in:
- Auckland - down 2.0 percent (16,733 jobs)
- Wellington - down 2.1 percent (5,543 jobs)
- Manawatū-Whanganui - down 1.6 percent (1,871 jobs)
- Waikato - down 0.7 percent (1,672 jobs)
- Hawke's Bay - down 1.4 percent (1,192 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In March 2025 compared with March 2024, the number of filled jobs fell by 2.0 percent (23,796 jobs) for men and fell by 1.2 percent (14,034 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with March 2024 were in:
- 15-19 years - down 10.0 percent (13,567 jobs)
- 25-29 years - down 4.5 percent (11,881 jobs)
- 30-34 years - down 2.9 percent (8,773 jobs)
- 20-24 years - down 3.6 percent (8,383 jobs)
- 35-39 years - up 2.2 percent (6,053 jobs).
Gross earnings
On an accrual basis, the total gross earnings rose $103 million (0.6 percent) compared with March 2024. The total gross earnings for the March 2025 month were $16.2 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 are 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.
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.
Technical enquiries
Reuben Harrison
04 931 4600
[email protected]
Next release
Employment indicators: April 2025 will be released on 28 May 2025.
