The labour market

Auckland's workforce

Jobs in Auckland by broad skill level

   
      2023
      2024
      Change
    
      Highly-skilled
      379,863
      390,195
      2.7%
    
      Skilled
      131,691
      135,728
      3.1%
    
      Semi-skilled
      133,214
      137,129
      2.9%
    
      Low-skilled
      326,484
      335,029
      2.6%

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Auckland’s workforce by ethnicity

Source: StatsNZ: Household Labour Force Survey

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s workforce is growing, and continues to become more diverse and skilled.

Employment has shown consistently robust growth in Auckland over the last decade, with highly skilled jobs making up an increased proportion of the workforce. Auckland's labour force demographics have also shifted significantly, driven by immigration from Asia and a growing Māori and Pacific workforce. The challenging economic climate has led to rising unemployment in recent quarters, however.

- Nearly 1 million people are employed in Auckland in 2025 (Q1), 34% of the New Zealand total. A further 68,000 people are unemployed, an increase of nearly 18,000 over the last 12 months.
- The number of people employed has increased by nearly 100,000 since 2019 but has declined by approximately 10,000 over the last 12 months due to growing unemployment
- Auckland’s workforce continues to become more diverse.
  - The Asian workforce has increased by 73,000 since Q1 2023, but growth has slowed down in recent quarters. This growth is forecast to continue based on population and immigration projections.
- There has been a modest increase in the number of Māori and Pacific peoples in Auckland’s workforce since 2023, while European workforce numbers continue to decline.
- Over half of Auckland’s jobs were either ‘high skilled’ or ‘skilled’ in 2024, while ‘low skilled’ jobs were around 34%.
  - This is more skewed toward ‘high skilled’ jobs than the rest of New Zealand.
  - The largest increase in the year to March 2024 was seen in ‘high skilled’ jobs (+10,300). This has been the case every year since 2001.
- In 2024, 36% of jobs in Auckland were ‘knowledge-intensive’, higher than the rest of New Zealand (31%). This gap is driven by a stronger concentration of IT, management and engineering professionals in Auckland.

Sources: Employment size, population growth, region’s skill level – Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile. Workforce ethnicities, workforce ethnicity by age – StatsNZ: Household Labour Force Survey

Employment trends

  
      2023
      2024
    
      Professional, scientific and technical services
      123,000
      124,600
    
      Construction
      102,900
      107,200
    
      Health care and social assistance
      88,600
      91,400
    
      Retail trade
      85,200
      87,200
    
      Manufacturing
      84,600
      84,500
    
      Education and training
      68,200
      70,300
    
      Wholesale trade
      66,100
      67,000
    
      Accommodation and food services
      59,700
      63,500
    
      Administrative and support services
      56,100
      57,300
    
      Transport, postal and warehousing
      43,800
      47,300
    
      Financial and insurance services
      40,900
      42,200
    
      Public administration and safety
      38,500
      39,700
    
      Other services
      35,300
      36,000
    
      Rental, hiring and real estate services
      25,900
      26,100
    
      Information media and telecommunications
      22,800
      22,800
    
      Arts and recreation services
      15,600
      16,800
    
      Agriculture, forestry and fishing
      7,400
      7,500
    
      Electricity, gas, water and waste services
      6,000
      6,100
    
      Mining
      400
      400

Employment by industry in Auckland

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Employee Distribution

      Unemployment rate
      Labour force participation rate
    
      Dec 2019
      Dec 2023
      Dec 2024
      Dec 2019
      Dec 2023
      Dec 2024
    
      Total
      4.2%
      3.8%
      5.0%
      70.8%
      74.5%
      73.0%
    
      Female
      4.8%
      4.1%
      5.4%
      66.5%
      69.9%
      68.3%
    
      Male
      3.7%
      3.4%
      4.6%
      75.3%
      79.1%
      77.9%
    
      European
      3.1%
      2.8%
      3.9%
      72.6%
      75.5%
      74.1%
    
      Māori
      8.0%
      8.3%
      10.3%
      67.0%
      69.2%
      67.5%
    
      Pacific
      8.3%
      7.0%
      9.3%
      62.7%
      67.2%
      64.9%
    
      Asian
      4.1%
      3.4%
      4.5%
      72.1%
      78.1%
      76.5%
    
      Unemployment
Rate
    
      Dec 2019
      Dec 2023
      Dec 2024
    
      Total
      4.2%
      3.8%
      5.0%
    
      Female
      4.8%
      4.1%
      5.4%
    
      Male
      3.7%
      3.4%
      4.6%
    
      European
      3.1%
      2.8%
      3.9%
    
      Māori
      8.0%
      8.3%
      10.3%
    
      Pacific
      8.3%
      7.0%
      9.3%
    
      Asian
      4.1%
      3.4%
      4.5%

Unemployment and labour force participation rates in Auckland
(year end annual averages)

Source: StatsNZ: Household Labour Force Survey.

While Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is overwhelmingly a service-based economy, growth has not necessarily been driven by service industries.

Auckland has a predominantly service-based economy, although employment isn’t always concentrated in the areas with the highest GDP contribution. More labour-intensive industries such as construction (1st), retail (4th) and hospitality (5th) have seen large employment growth over the last decade and, as a result, the proportion of employment in higher-value service industries has remained the same.

While there has been relatively less employment growth in industries such as ‘financial and insurance services’ and ‘information media and telecommunications’, they rank 3rd and 4th, respectively for contribution to Auckland’s GDP growth over the last decade. This reflects the differences in labour productivity (GDP per worker) across industries.

The year to March 2024 saw continued recovery in employment in industries hit harder by the pandemic (e.g., hospitality, transport and logistics, education and training). ‘Construction’ and ‘health care and social assistance’ also saw strong employment growth, while manufacturing saw a slight decline and the increase in jobs in services was more subdued. However, national-level filled jobs data up to March 2025 suggest that the recent economic downturn has led to a large decline in construction jobs, as well as a fall in hospitality, retail, professional services, and administrative services.

- Employment growth in Auckland was positive across all industries except manufacturing in the year to March 2024.
  - ‘Transport, postal and warehousing’ was the fastest growing industry (7.4%) in Auckland, closely followed by ‘arts and recreation services’ (7.1%).
  - ‘Manufacturing’ saw a slight decrease of -0.01% (140 jobs) but remains the fifth largest employer in the region, accounting for 8.5% of total employment.
- National-level filled jobs data up to March 2025 shows that the increase in unemployment over the last 12 months has been most evident in ‘information media and telecommunications’ (-7.5% decline in filled jobs), ‘construction’ (-6.1%) and ‘administration and support services’ (-5.7%).
- Auckland is a service-intensive region. In 2024, nearly 80% of the workforce was employed in service industries, compared to 72% across the rest of New Zealand.
  - Auckland has a comparative advantage in sectors such as insurance, finance, information media and telecommunications.
- The primary industries employ only 0.8% of the region’s workforce. This is significantly lower than the rest of the country (7.9%).

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland is experiencing rising unemployment and declining labour force participation, amid continuing economic challenges.

Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland has a labour force participation rate of 73 per cent, which means nearly three-quarters of working age (15-64) Aucklanders have or are seeking a job. Of the total labour force, of 1.06 million people, 68,000 (6.4%) were unemployed in the March 2025 quarter. The annual average unemployment rate for the year to March 2025 (5.4%) is a percentage point below this, however, with the quarterly unemployment rate seeing a particular large jump in March 2025 compared to previous quarters. The quarterly unemployment rate has climbed to its highest level since 2015, and the discrepancy between Auckland and the rest of New Zealand’s unemployment rate (4.9%) of 1.5 percentage points is the largest gap seen since 2010. The discrepancy between the annual average unemployment rate for the year to March 2025 is not as marked, but still the highest we have seen since 2015.

Auckland’s labour force participation rate remains above that of the rest of New Zealand, as has been the case since the pandemic. While labour force participation has declined over the last 12 months, it is still above pre-pandemic levels.

- Auckland’s labour force participation rate was 73% in Q1 of 2025.
  - This is lower than in 2023 (74%), although still relatively high historically (e.g., 70%, on average, from 2014-2019).
  - This is higher than the New Zealand-wide value (72%).
- Male participation is higher than female (78% vs 68%) in Q1 of 2025. Female participation has fallen slightly more over the last 12 months, but the gap is still smaller than it was in the years prior to the pandemic.
- Participation rates have fallen the most among Māori over the last 12 months, followed by those of European ethnicity. The participation rate for the Asian ethnic group has remained stable, while the participation rate for Pacific peoples has increased.
  - Māori now have the lowest participation rate in Auckland (66%), followed by Pacific Peoples (68%).
  - Asian (77%) labour force participation is the highest of the major ethnic groups, and has overtaken European participation since the pandemic.
- Auckland’s unemployment rate was 6.4% in Q1 2025, up from 4.8% in Q1 2024.
  - This is well above the national rate (5.4%) and that of the rest of New Zealand (4.9%)
  - An additional 18,000 Aucklanders are unemployed compared to 12 months ago, the biggest annual increase since 2015.
  - The unemployment gap to the rest of New Zealand of 1.5 percentage points is the highest seen since 2010. The gap between the annual average unemployment rates for the year to March 2025 (5.4% v 4.9%) is not as marked, but still the highest we have seen since 2015.
- Male unemployment (6.2%) is slightly lower than female unemployment (6.7%) but the gap has narrowed over the last year.
- The European ethnicity group has the lowest unemployment rate (4.1%), followed by Asian (5.8%). Māori unemployment is up to 14.8%, an increase of nearly 5 percentage points over the last 12 months, while the Pacific unemployment rate is 12.1%.

Sources: Employment sectors, share of employment and GDP – Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile. Participation rate by region and age group – StatsNZ: Household Labour Force Survey

Earnings

Mean annual earnings and growth in Auckland (March Year, nominal values)

Source: Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile

Average earnings in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland continue to grow at more than the rate of inflation, increasing by 5.6 per cent in the year to March 2024.

The average Auckland employee currently earns around $86,000 annually. This is higher than the rest of New Zealand, although lower than for Wellington employees. Earnings have continued to grow over time, and the period since 2021 has seen above-inflation growth - increasing average real incomes for Aucklanders. National-level weekly earnings data up to March 2025 suggest average earnings have likely increased again over the last 12 months but less than in previous years due to a tighter job market.

- The average Auckland employee earns $86,000 annually (year to March 2024), an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year.
  - This is 13% greater than the average employee across the rest of New Zealand ($75,000).
  - Average earnings in Wellington are slightly higher ($87,000) than in Auckland
- Auckland has strong clusters of highly paid jobs in certain industries.
  - The average wage among Auckland’s leading ICT companies was $106,000 according to 2022 data from the Technology Investment Network (TIN).
  - Auckland has a strong concentration of employment in high-paying service industries relative to the rest of New Zealand, e.g., ‘information media and telecommunications’ and ‘financial and insurance services’.
- The Auckland growth rate of mean annual earnings has fallen from 7.2% in the year to March 2023 to 5.6% in the year to March 2024.
  - The rest of New Zealand has also experienced lower earnings growth compared to 2023, albeit slightly higher (5.8%) than Auckland.
  - Wellington’s earnings growth was also higher than Auckland’s at 6.1%.
- National-level weekly earnings data up to March 2025 suggest average earnings have likely increased again over the last 12 months but less than in previous years due to a tighter job market.
- Since the pandemic, earnings have increased 5.3% p.a., on average in Auckland, and 5.2.% p.a. across the rest of New Zealand. In the decade prior to the pandemic, earnings growth across the rest of New Zealand outpaced Auckland slightly.

Sources: Unemployment rate, earnings, earnings growth, mean annual earnings – Infometrics: Regional Economic Profile. Auckland unemployment and participation rate – StatsNZ: Household Labour Force Survey

Auckland Economic Monitor

A summary of key economic information about the region

Download the report

Auckland’s economy: What’s changed?

Economic activity

Auckland’s economy is well-diversified - more than any other area of New Zealand - but it has a relative focus on high value service industries.

Read more
Businesses

Auckland has around 225,000 businesses. They employ more people on average than the rest of the country.

Read more
The labour market

Auckland’s workforce is large, diverse, and skewed toward high skilled workers.

Read more
Economic confidence

Auckland’s consumer confidence is relatively low, reflecting the difficult economic conditions which exist today.

Read more
Visitor economy

Auckland offers the first taste of New Zealand for many international visitors.

Read more
Community

Auckland contains 33% of New Zealand’s population. Although ageing, it is more youthful than the rest of New Zealand.

Read more
Emissions

Notwithstanding its GDP contribution of 37%, Auckland produced only 14% of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2022.

Read more