Employment indicators provide an early indication of changes in the labour market.
Timing of redundancy payments in MEI data: Any reduction in filled jobs from a redundancy payment will be represented in the data over the following month. For example, an employee’s job would be counted in May but not in June if their final pay, which includes a redundancy payment, is in May. The MEI measures filled jobs, which means vacancies are not captured.
Key facts
Changes in the seasonally adjusted filled jobs for the May 2024 month (compared with the April 2024 month) were:
- all industries – flat (down 878 jobs) to 2.4 million filled jobs
- primary industries – down 1.7 percent (1,765 jobs)
- goods-producing industries – flat (down 90 jobs)
- service industries – up 0.1 percent (975 jobs).
| Month | Percentage change |
| May-21 | 0.3 |
| Jun-21 | 0.6 |
| Jul-21 | 0.4 |
| Aug-21 | 0.5 |
| Sep-21 | 0.1 |
| Oct-21 | 0.2 |
| Nov-21 | 0.4 |
| Dec-21 | 0.1 |
| Jan-22 | 0.3 |
| Feb-22 | -0.4 |
| Mar-22 | -0.3 |
| Apr-22 | 0.4 |
| May-22 | 0.1 |
| Jun-22 | 0.2 |
| Jul-22 | 0.4 |
| Aug-22 | 0.4 |
| Sep-22 | 0.3 |
| Oct-22 | 0.1 |
| Nov-22 | 0.3 |
| Dec-22 | -0.4 |
| Jan-23 | 0.8 |
| Feb-23 | 0.5 |
| Mar-23 | 0.3 |
| Apr-23 | 0.5 |
| May-23 | 0.1 |
| Jun-23 | 0.1 |
| Jul-23 | 0.2 |
| Aug-23 | 0 |
| Sep-23 | 0.1 |
| Oct-23 | 0.3 |
| Nov-23 | -0.1 |
| Dec-23 | -0.1 |
| Jan-24 | 0.3 |
| Feb-24 | 0.1 |
| Mar-24 | 0.2 |
| Apr-24 | -0.1 |
| May-24 | 0 |
The following figures compare May 2024 actual values with May 2023.
Filled jobs changes by industry
By industry, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with May 2023 were in:
- health care and social assistance – up 5.5 percent (14,636 jobs)
- administrative and support services – down 5.0 percent (5,715 jobs)
- public administration and safety – up 3.4 percent (5,485 jobs)
- education and training – up 2.4 percent (5,060 jobs)
- transport, postal, and warehousing – up 3.6 percent (3,546 jobs).
Filled jobs changes by region
By region, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with May 2023 were in:
- Auckland – up 1.3 percent (10,094 jobs)
- Canterbury – up 1.3 percent (4,021 jobs)
- Bay of Plenty – up 1.7 percent (2,526 jobs)
- Waikato – up 0.9 percent (2,076 jobs)
- Hawke’s Bay – up 1.2 percent (963 jobs).
Filled jobs changes for men and women
In May 2024 compared with May 2023, the number of filled jobs rose by 0.1 percent (1,065 jobs) for men and rose by 0.4 percent (5,121 jobs) for women.
Filled jobs by age group
By age group, the largest changes in the number of filled jobs compared with May 2023 were in:
- 35-39 years – up 6.6 percent (17,249 jobs)
- 15-19 years – down 10.7 percent (15,088 jobs)
- 40-44 years – up 5.1 percent (12,116 jobs)
- 30-34 years – up 2.8 percent (8,090 jobs)
- 25-29 years – down 2.0 percent (5,413 jobs).
Gross earnings
Actual gross earnings on an accrual basis for the May 2024 month were $15.8 billion, compared with $15 billion for the May 2023 month.
About the data
The actual gross earnings in this release were calculated on an accrual basis, where earnings are allocated proportionally to the period in which they are earned.
The accrual method removes the volatility of monthly data. For example, a fortnightly pay period might occur twice in some months and three times in other months.
Due to the shorter time series and minor revisions to data in the actual gross earnings series, the data is not directly comparable to calculations for monthly earnings on a cash basis (which covers the amount paid in the reference month).
Gross earnings on a cash basis are available from Infoshare.
Definitions and metadata
Employment indicators – DataInfo+ provides general methodology and definitions relevant for employment statistics.
Technical enquiries
Sue Chapman
03 964 8371
[email protected]
Next release
Employment indicators: June 2024 will be released on 29 July 2024.
