New Zealand Hiring by the Numbers: Which Sectors and Regions Suit a Move From South Africa
News · 2026-08-28 · 4 min read
Before you book flights or send off applications, check where New Zealand is actually adding jobs. The newest official employment figures give a useful picture of which industries, regions and age groups are hiring, and which are slipping.
According to Stats NZ, filled jobs rose by about 18,000 in the year to July, bringing the national total to 2.34 million. Seasonally adjusted, employers added another 7,746 roles from June to July, a rise of 0.3%. The headline is fine, but if you want to work in New Zealand from South Africa, the detail underneath is far more useful.
Which industries are growing
Healthcare and social assistance did best of all, adding 6,581 jobs over the year, up 2.3%. No other industry created more new work. If your background is nursing, aged care, allied health or support work, this is about as clear a signal as the figures give.
Next came public administration and safety, up 6,418 jobs (4%), and education and training, up 2,630 roles (1.2%). Construction gained 1,810 jobs (0.9%). Tradespeople should take note, because building work follows housing and infrastructure spending closely.
One industry went backwards. Professional, scientific and technical services, which takes in much of the country's office-based and tech-related workforce, lost 2,078 jobs (1.1%). If your move depends on a consulting, IT or scientific-services job, plan around that weakness, even while health and public-sector hiring heads the other way.
Picking a region
Where you settle matters as much as what you do. Canterbury topped the regions with 6,824 extra jobs (2.2%), a sign that the Christchurch economy, rebuilt and still growing, has plenty of momentum. Auckland (+4,427) and Waikato (+3,330) also grew solidly, and Otago added 1,710.
Northland went the other way, losing 1,526 jobs. That 2.1% fall was the sharpest of any region Stats NZ singled out. If you are choosing between regions, the message is clear: the South Island and the central North Island are doing better than the north at the moment.
Who is landing the new roles
The breakdown by person gives skilled migrants and their families more to think about. Women took most of the year's job growth, with 7,959 more roles (0.7%), against 3,819 (0.3%) for men. Older workers are doing well too. Employment for people aged 65 and over rose 4.1%, or 5,407 jobs, which is worth knowing if you are moving later in your career or plan to keep working past the usual retirement age. In raw numbers the 35-to-39 group grew most, up 9,030 jobs (3.2%), while people aged 30-to-34 lost ground, down 5,180 jobs (1.8%).
More money moving through payroll
Hiring is not the only thing going up. Total gross earnings across the country reached $16.5 billion in July, $607 million (3.8%) higher than a year earlier. Employers are paying more as well as hiring more, which helps when you are building a budget around expected take-home pay.
Turning the data into a decision
Put together, the figures show a clear pattern. Healthcare, public administration, education and construction are moving ahead. Canterbury and Waikato are growing faster than most of the country. Older and female workers are gaining more than their share. Professional and technical services, Northland and workers in their early thirties are finding it harder. Stats NZ treats these numbers as provisional for three months while payday filing data comes in, so read them as a strong early signal, not the final result.
Still, they are a good place to start when you weigh up which industry and which region give you the best chance of finding work fast. If you are a nurse, carer, teacher or tradesperson in South Africa, the data points you towards the sectors with the most momentum. Get your paperwork in order early, including a police clearance certificate from the South African Police Service (SAPS) if an employer or visa asks for one, and an IELTS or PTE result if an English score is needed.
#new zealand jobs growth 2026 #new zealand employment statistics #work in new zealand #new zealand skilled migration jobs #healthcare jobs new zealand #new zealand work visa opportunities #canterbury job growth #auckland employment trends #new zealand construction jobs #migrate to new zealand for work #new zealand labour market report #best regions to work in new zealand #new zealand public sector jobs #new zealand job market for migrants #stats nz employment indicators