Filled jobs measure the number of positions currently being worked, drawn from PAYE tax data. The metric is distinct from the unemployment rate, which tracks people actively seeking work.
“We’re basically just bumping along the bottom of the labour market,” says Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold in comments made to RNZ on 29 June 2026.
Eckhold said unemployment could keep rising even with jobs growth returning. That is because the working-age population is expanding faster than employers are hiring. He said the outcome could have been worse than feared earlier this year.
Where the May employment indicators show hiring pressure concentrated
Primary industries were flat in May, down 25 jobs. Goods-producing industries, including manufacturing and construction, rose just 0.1 per cent, adding 602 jobs.
Service industries climbed 0.4 per cent, adding 6,980 jobs on their own. That single sector accounted for nearly all of New Zealand’s net jobs growth for the month.