Articles

What skills will employers need in five years' time? Which industries will create the most jobs? And how can training providers ensure their programmes remain aligned with the needs of the labour market?

On July 3 (New Zealand time), Germany’s coalition government announced changes to sick leave rules requiring workers to provide a doctor's note to their employer on the first day of illness. Here we look at regulations around sick leave in New Zealand, trends in sick leave taken, and the costs, benefits, and the feasibility of taking a similar approach over here.

A wrong hire can cost a small to medium sized business as much as $20,000 according to recent research. Here I look at why wrong hires might happen.

With the release of term 1 of 2026 school attendance data, we look at how attendance has improved in recent years and how the same disparities in attendance across ethnicities, socio-economic deprivation, and regions remain.

New Zealand’s labour market data is often reduced to a single headline number – the unemployment rate. But that narrow focus risks missing the much broader story playing out beneath the surface.

Hiring decisions in New Zealand’s labour market appear to be becoming more cautious at the margins.

We have recently updated our detailed forecasts of industry and regional economic activity and employment for the next five years.

Eighteen months ago in August 2024, the Government introduced a traffic light system and new sanctions for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations.

Conditions in the labour market have deteriorated over the past 18-24 months, as the unemployment rate has risen from 4.0% in December 2023 to 5.1% just a year later. The unemployment rate has continued to rise in 2025, reaching 5.3% in the September quarter, up from 5.2% in June.

When we publish the 2025 REPs and SPs early in 2026, we will make larger than usual revisions due to a raft of changes to our methodologies. This article describes the changes we are making and what they will mean for you.