Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the February 2024 month (compared with the January 2024 month) were:
- all industries – up 0.3 percent (6,006 jobs) to 2.4 million filled jobs
- primary industries – down 0.7 percent (751 jobs)
- goods-producing industries – flat (up 46 jobs)
- service industries – up 0.3 percent (5,220 jobs).
| Month | Percentage change |
| 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 | 0.2 |
| Jan-22 | 0.3 |
| 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 | 0.8 |
| 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 |
| Dec-23 | -0.1 |
| Jan-24 | 0.4 |
| Feb-24 | 0.3 |
The following figures compare February 2024 actual values with February 2023.
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2023 were in:
- health care and social assistance – up 4.9 percent (13,153 jobs)
- public administration and safety – up 5.3 percent (8,334 jobs)
- transport, postal, and warehousing – up 7.7 percent (7,224 jobs)
- education and training – up 3.5 percent (6,854 jobs)
- accommodation and food services – up 2.8 percent (4,414 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2023 were in:
- Auckland – up 2.9 percent (23,310 jobs)
- Canterbury – up 2.1 percent (6,682 jobs)
- Waikato – up 1.8 percent (3,976 jobs)
- Bay of Plenty – up 2.6 percent (3,747 jobs)
- Otago – up 2.4 percent (2,767 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In February 2024 compared with February 2023, the number of filled jobs rose by 1.8 percent (20,883 jobs) for men and rose by 1.3 percent (14,980 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with February 2023 were in:
- 35-39 years – up 8.2 percent (20,724 jobs)
- 30-34 years – up 5.5 percent (15,400 jobs)
- 40-44 years – up 6.7 percent (15,385 jobs)
- 15-19 years – down 8.7 percent (13,093 jobs)
- 65+ years – up 5.3 percent (6,452 jobs).
Gross earnings
Actual gross earnings on an accrual basis for the February 2024 month were $14.8 billion, compared with $13.7 billion for the February 2023 month.
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 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.
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 are available from 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: March 2024 will be released on 29 April 2024.
