Moving to New Zealand from the UK? Where the latest jobs figures say the work is

News · 2026-08-28 · 3 min read

Three colleagues chat in a sunny New Zealand workplace courtyard, surrounded by native plants and green hills.

Headline employment figures can feel like background noise. Read closely, though, New Zealand's newest numbers work as a rough map: which industries are taking people on, which regions are growing and where things are slowing down. If you plan to work in New Zealand from the UK, that map is worth a few minutes.

Total jobs: steady growth

Stats NZ's latest employment indicators show about 18,000 more filled jobs over the year to July, bringing the national total to 2.34 million. Between June and July alone, seasonally adjusted, employers added another 7,746 roles, a 0.3% rise. The more useful part, though, is the breakdown underneath.

Growing and shrinking industries

Industry	Change over the year
Healthcare and social assistance	+6,581 jobs (2.3%)
Public administration and safety	+6,418 jobs (4%)
Education and training	+2,630 jobs (1.2%)
Construction	+1,810 jobs (0.9%)
Professional, scientific and technical services	−2,078 jobs (1.1%)

Healthcare is the clear leader and the biggest single source of new jobs in the country. If you have a background in nursing, aged care, allied health or support work, this is about as encouraging as the data gets. Construction's gain is a useful sign for UK tradespeople, as the sector moves closely with housing and infrastructure spending. Bear in mind that some trades in New Zealand need occupational registration.

The fall in professional, scientific and technical services matters if you are moving for consulting, IT or scientific work. It covers much of New Zealand's office-based and tech-related workforce, so build that softness into your plans.

Regions pulling ahead, and one falling back

Canterbury led the country with 6,824 extra jobs (2.2%), a sign that the Christchurch economy still has strong momentum.
Auckland added 4,427 and Waikato 3,330.
Otago gained 1,710.
Northland lost 1,526 jobs, a 2.1% fall and the steepest drop among the regions highlighted.

In short, the South Island and the central North Island are currently doing better than the north. If you have not settled on a region yet, that is a fair starting point.

Who is finding work

Women took most of the year's growth, with 7,959 more roles (0.7%) against 3,819 (0.3%) for men. Older workers are doing well too: employment among people 65 and over rose 4.1%, or 5,407 jobs, which is good news if you are moving later in your career or plan to keep working past the usual retirement age.

By raw numbers, the biggest gain was among 35-to-39-year-olds, up 9,030 jobs (3.2%). People aged 30 to 34 went the other way, down 5,180 jobs (1.8%).

Pay is rising as well

Total gross earnings across New Zealand reached $16.5 billion in July, up $607 million (3.8%) on the year. Employers are paying more as well as hiring more, which helps when you are working out a budget for the move around expected take-home pay.

How to use these figures

Stats NZ treats the figures as provisional for three months while payday filing data comes in, so see them as a strong early signal rather than the final word. Even so, they suggest a sensible order for planning:

Start with your industry: healthcare, public administration, education and construction are growing.
Then look at regions: Canterbury and Waikato are ahead of the rest.
Then line up your paperwork, such as references and certified copies of your qualifications, and a police certificate from ACRO Criminal Records Office if a UK one is requested.

Visa options are on the Immigration New Zealand visa pages. For more background, read New Zealand's plumbing shortage and why New Zealand is winning back its own people, then browse the latest jobs.

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