New Zealand added 2515 filled jobs in May 2026, a 0.3% monthly increase, with annual jobs growth of 0.7% marking the fastest rate in just over two years.
Public administration added 6337 positions, alongside healthcare (5728 jobs), education (3245) and financial services (3018). The service sector contributed 1977 jobs, while goods production added 242.
Professional services, manufacturing and administrative services recorded losses, and employment among people under 30 fell 1.4% in the year to March. April's initially reported 0.2% rise was revised down to a 0.1% decline.
Infometrics principal consultant Rob Heyes said the jobs market might be starting to recover, with government, education and healthcare sectors acting as a foundation. He said indications suggest retail, wholesale trade and construction may have reached their lowest point for employment reductions. "We are heading in the right direction but I want to see a few more months of positive job numbers before I conclude we have seen the worst," he said.
Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold said the data pattern was volatile because of repeated adjustments to earlier figures. He said unemployment was expected to stay around 5.4% in the next release before dropping later in 2026. "We're basically just bumping along the bottom of the labour market," Eckhold said.
Eckhold said earlier projections had indicated the Middle East conflict might have delivered a more pronounced negative effect on employment than eventuated. "We could have potentially got weaker outcomes than this. It could have been worse," he said.