The job market's tough, but these roles are still in high demand

Brian from Mount Roskill

One job stands out as being in particularly high demand in the tough job market.
Latest Stats NZ data shows the number of filled jobs increased 0.2% in August, with increases across the primary, manufacturing and service sectors, and across Auckland, Wellington and Canterbury.
But total jobs are still down 0.7% on a year ago, with New Zealand losing more than 10,000 construction jobs, more than 5000 professional service jobs and almost 5000 healthcare and social assistance jobs over the past year.
New data from employment platform Seek shows some jobs are still in high demand, with sales account managers the most advertised role by far.
Sales business development managers, accountants, electricians, community support workers, nurses and administrative officers are also in high demand.
Retail sales assistants, chefs and retail store managers also feature in the top 10.
Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said there was a clear need for aged care and disability workers.
“With an estimated 7.5% of Kiwis now over the age of 75, and around another 9% over the age of 65, support workers and nurses are likely to remain in-demand for some time as the demand for care from these older Kiwis grows.”
Chapman said another key factor was the resurgence in tourism, particularly the rise in Australian visitors in recent months.
“The growth in tourism is supporting demand for chefs and retail workers. Despite the overall weakness in the New Zealand economy, household consumption has continued to grow, which is also supporting demand for chefs and retail workers.”
Seek recently reported a 4% annual rise in job ads – the first year-on-year increase in almost three years.
However, applications per job have also reached a record high and advertised salaries have increased below the rate of inflation over the past year.
ASB economists have noted the recent rise in filled jobs in the Stats NZ figures reflects a downward revision of job figures from previous months.
“There is still significant spare capacity in the labour market, and it will take a concerted period of strong growth to push the unemployment rate down to the 4-4.5% goldilocks zone,” they said.
Top 10 most in-demand roles in New Zealand in 2025, based on job ad volume on Seek on September 24, 2025, and the number of job ads for each
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Sales account manager – 3533
Sales business development manager – 2568
Accountant – 2339
Electrician – 2153
Community services & development support worker – 1863
Nurse – 1854
Administration officer – 1460
Retail sales assistant – 1285
Chef – 1157
Retail store manager – 1016
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