Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the February 2025 month (compared with the January 2025 month) were:
- all industries - flat (up 1,157 jobs) to 2.36 million filled jobs
- primary industries - up 1.0 percent (1,064 jobs)
- goods-producing industries - down 0.3 percent (1,130 jobs)
- service industries - flat (up 313 jobs).
| Month | Percentage change |
| 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 | -0.3 |
| Jan-23 | 0.6 |
| Feb-23 | 0.5 |
| Mar-23 | 0.3 |
| Apr-23 | 0.4 |
| 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 | 0.1 |
| Apr-24 | -0.3 |
| 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 |
The following figures compare February 2025 actual values with February 2024:
- Filled jobs were 2.34 million, down 35,090 (1.5 percent).
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2024 were in:
- construction - down 6.6 percent (13,751 jobs)
- administrative and support services - down 6.5 percent (6,738 jobs)
- manufacturing - down 2.6 percent (6,086 jobs)
- professional, scientific, and technical services - down 3.1 percent (5,903 jobs)
- health care and social assistance - up 1.8 percent (5,063 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2024 were in:
- Auckland - down 2.1 percent (17,070 jobs)
- Wellington - down 2.0 percent (5,265 jobs)
- Waikato - down 0.8 percent (1,915 jobs)
- Manawatū-Whanganui - down 1.5 percent (1,693 jobs)
- Bay of Plenty - down 1.0 percent (1,522 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In February 2025 compared with February 2024, the number of filled jobs fell by 2.2 percent (26,012 jobs) for men and fell by 1.3 percent (15,306 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2024 were in:
- 15 to 19 years - down 9.9 percent (13,547 jobs)
- 25 to 29 years - down 4.6 percent (12,086 jobs)
- 30 to 34 years - down 2.8 percent (8,274 jobs)
- 20 to 24 years - down 3.2 percent (7,325 jobs)
- 35 to 39 years - up 2.1 percent (5,700 jobs).
Gross earnings
On an accrual basis, the total gross earnings fell $295 million (2.0 percent) in February 2025, compared with February 2024. The total gross earnings for the February 2025 month were $14.6 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
Declan Tobin
04 931 4600
[email protected]
Next release
Employment indicators: March 2025 will be released on 29 April 2025.
