New Zealand's labour market added 4,333 jobs between March and April 2026, marking the second consecutive month of employment growth.
Filled job numbers rose 0.2% over the month and were up 0.5% compared to a year earlier, the fastest annual rate of increase in two years.
Healthcare led job growth with 5,527 new positions, followed by transport with 2,386 and agriculture with 2,248. Manufacturing shed 3,238 jobs. The service sector added 3,650 jobs overall, with the bulk of increases in the South Island.
But Infometrics principal consultant Rob Heyes cautioned the gains may not continue. "The job gains we are seeing in March and April are probably based largely on hiring decisions made in January and February, perhaps even late last year," Heyes said. "We don't like to forecast monthly figures because they do bobble around quite a lot, but I'll be very surprised if we continue to see job gains two or three months from now."
Youth employment continued to decline, with jobs filled by people aged 30 or under falling 1.5% compared to a year earlier. This was the 33rd consecutive monthly fall for that age group.
Separate data showed worker turnover at its lowest level on record at 12.8% of workers changing jobs each quarter on average over the year to March 2025. Job adverts nationally fell 54% between 2023 and 2025, while the number of applicants rose 2.5 times according to Seek data.