Casual And Fixed-Term Roles Jumped This Year. Be Clear About What You Are Offering.

Casual employees in New Zealand rose by 19,100, or 19.5 percent, over the year to the September 2026 quarter, according to Stats NZ's latest labour market statistics. Fixed-term employees rose by 8,100, or 18.9 percent, over the same period. Most paid employees are still in permanent jobs, at 91.3 percent, so this is not a story about permanence disappearing. It is a story about a clear shift at the edges: more of the work being offered is shorter and less certain than it was a year ago.

For hiring managers in IT, finance, accounting, risk and corporate teams, that shift is showing up in conversations with experienced candidates. When the ad says one thing and the offer says another, or when a job is listed as fixed-term without a clear reason or end date, good people walk away or start the role already wondering how long they should stay.

What the figures show

Stats NZ counted 116,900 casual employees and 50,900 fixed-term employees among 2,340,000 paid employees in the September quarter. Those two groups are still a small share of the workforce, but they are the ones that grew. Permanent employees made up 91.3 percent of paid employees, which is worth keeping in view so the numbers do not get overstated.

The wider labour market was soft. The unemployment rate rose to 5.7 percent, the highest in 11 years, and employment slipped 0.1 percent to 2,891,000 people. Stats NZ described the level of employment as similar to the previous quarter, and labour market spokesperson Abby Johnston said the bigger change was in how people were employed: casual and fixed-term roles increased over the year, while there was a shift towards part-time employment over the quarter.

A note on that quarterly part-time shift. Stats NZ also found a drop in hours actually worked, and said much of the annual increase in people working fewer hours than usual was for holiday reasons. Matariki fell in the September quarter this year, after sitting in the June quarter in 2024 and 2025, so some of the quarter's movement from full-time to part-time work may reflect the survey week rather than a lasting change in how firms roster people. The yearly rise in casual and fixed-term roles is the cleaner signal.

These figures cover paid employees only, not self-employed people or contractors, and the breakdown by type of employment is not seasonally adjusted.

Why it shows up in hiring

After a cautious stretch, more firms are thinking about adding people, and some are choosing a fixed-term or casual arrangement because the work feels uncertain. That can be a perfectly sound choice when there is a real reason for it, such as covering someone on parental leave, finishing a defined project, or bringing in extra help for a known peak.

The trouble starts when the arrangement is used as a hedge. An experienced finance manager or a senior developer who is weighing up a move will usually ask, early on, whether the job is permanent. If the honest answer is that you need someone ongoing but you would rather not commit yet, they will hear that, and many will keep looking. People with a mortgage, a family or a career they have spent twenty years building are not being difficult when they want to know whether the job will still be there in a year.

We also see the other version of this: a job ad that says permanent and an offer that arrives as a six-month fixed term, or a conversation that describes the role as likely to go permanent without anyone being able to say what would make that happen. That gap between the conversation and the paperwork is where trust starts to fade.

What the law asks you to get right

Employment New Zealand is clear that a fixed-term agreement needs a genuine reason based on reasonable grounds, and that the reason has to be about the work rather than the person. Covering parental leave, seasonal work or a one-off project can qualify. Using a fixed term because you are unsure about future workloads, because you want to test whether someone is right for the job, or because the work is actually ongoing, does not. The reason and how the employment will end must be written into the agreement. If they are not genuine, you may not be able to rely on the end date, and the person may be treated as permanent.

Employment New Zealand also says you should not use a fixed term in place of a trial or probationary period. If you want to see how someone goes in the job, that is what a lawful trial or probationary period is for.

Casual work is different again. A casual employee works when it suits both sides, with no guarantee of regular hours. That is not the same as permanent part-time work, where the hours are regular and guaranteed even if they are under 30 a week. If you need someone every Tuesday and Thursday, that is usually a part-time permanent job, not a casual one.

None of this is a reason to avoid fixed-term or casual hiring when it is the right fit. It is a reason to choose the arrangement that matches the work, write it down clearly, and say the same thing in the ad, the interviews and the offer.

How to talk about it with candidates

Put the type of employment in the job ad, not just the title and the salary range. If it is a fixed term, say how long and why, and be ready to talk about what happens at the end. If there is a genuine chance it could become permanent, say what that depends on, rather than leaving it as a vague hope. If you are open to either a permanent person or a contractor depending on who you meet, say that too, because some experienced people in IT and accounting prefer a well-defined contract and others will only move for permanence.

Make sure everyone on the interview panel gives the same answer. The fastest way to lose a strong candidate is for one interviewer to describe a long-term opportunity while another mentions a six-month end date.

What this means for hiring managers

A rise in casual and fixed-term work is a reasonable response when the work itself is short or uncertain. The employers who still attract good people through that shift will be the ones who are upfront about what they are offering, who use a fixed term only when there is a real reason for it, and who do not let a cautious internal conversation turn into a fuzzy message for the candidate. If you need someone to stay, the cleanest path is usually to say so and hire them that way.

If you are hiring in IT, finance, accounting, risk or corporate and want a read on how experienced candidates will respond to a permanent, fixed-term or contract arrangement, get in touch with the Find team.

Sources: Stats NZ, Labour market statistics: September 2026 quarter (4 November 2026); Employment New Zealand, Permanent or fixed-term employment.