SMEs have endured a youth boom, a wage trap, and a confidence crash, according to new reporting on employment in New Zealand.
Employment Hero, the global authority on employment, has released its inaugural Annual Jobs Report, New Zealand’s first and only employment snapshot dedicated to SMEs. Powered by 12 months of aggregated and anonymised real-time data from over 350,000 businesses and 2.5 million verified employees globally, alongside a YouGov survey of 3,635 workers, the Annual Jobs Report uncovers how shifts in the labour market are reshaping the way Kiwis live and work.
In New Zealand, SME employment has levelled out after the 2024 slowdown, averaging around ~1 percent year on year for much of 2025 and rising to +2.4 percent in July; wages are +3.9 percent YoY and hours worked are +1.2 percent YoY.
“We’re seeing early signs of balance return to New Zealand’s SME jobs market. Youth hiring and steady wages are creating more entry points into work, and businesses are using flexible staffing to manage demand while staying focused on productivity and costs. Our dataset captures both sides of the employment marketplace in real time, so leaders can see where pressure is building from casual pay growth and capability gaps to regional capacity and where momentum is emerging, from South Island job creation to stronger pathways for younger workers,” said Ben Thompson, Co-Founder and CEO of Employment Hero.
Despite the improvements in employment, more than half of New Zealanders (55 percent) believe employee conditions are worsening, while only 17 percent believe things are improving. A majority (58 percent) reported receiving a pay rise in the past 12 months, yet wage stagnation for many continues to intensify cost-of-living pressures.
This sense of unease reflects global dynamics across Australia, the UK, and Canada. While employment is rising in all markets (up 5.8 percent in Australia, 2.6 percent in the UK, and 2.4 percent in New Zealand), workers consistently report insecurity.
Nearly half of employees worldwide (45 percent) say they would not feel confident finding a new role within three months if they lost their current job. In New Zealand specifically, 53 percent lack confidence, underscoring that even with modest job growth, employees feel squeezed.
Casual jobs are surging, but pay is collapsing. In July 2025, casual employment rose 0.74 percent, but average hourly pay fell 1.3 percent, according to Employment Hero data. Compare that with full-time workers whose pay rose 4.6 percent, or part-timers at 5.7 percent, and a clear imbalance emerges. Casual work is absorbing labour market pressure, but it’s not protecting workers from inflation or insecurity.
SMEs are increasingly turning to younger staff, with under-18 hiring leading the charge. This mirrors the global “new blueprint for work,” where Gen Z are financially pragmatic but also the most mobile, willing to switch jobs, industries, or even countries in search of growth. However, in New Zealand as elsewhere, many of these roles are casual or low-paid, raising questions about sustainability.
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