State of the Market - Q3 2026

There seems to be a fairly common mood across New Zealand at the moment: we're all a little tired of waiting. After a couple of pretty bruising years, the conversations we're having with clients and candidates feel different, and while nobody is suggesting everything is suddenly wonderful, there is less appetite to sit on the sidelines indefinitely.

Enough waiting?

The market remains uneven, with Auckland and Wellington moving at different speeds and permanent and contracting markets behaving differently, but underneath all of that we are seeing organisations start to make decisions again. Contracting continues to play an important role, giving clients access to capability and flexibility without necessarily making a long-term commitment. At the same time, the assumption that a softer employment market means an unlimited supply of great candidates simply isn't proving true, because experienced, proven people remain difficult to find. On AI, the conversation is becoming less about whether it will affect jobs and more about where it can genuinely improve productivity, although for us the principle remains simple: technology can make things faster, but people still make the important decisions.

Wellington IT & Digital: momentum is building

Through Q3 the Wellington technology market has continued to improve, and compared with 12 months ago there is considerably more activity and more confidence. The biggest improvement has been in contracting, with a noticeable lift in contract placements and some improvement in margins, and after an extended period of restructuring more government agencies are starting to engage around Technology & Transformation capability. Strong candidates are moving quickly, counteroffers are increasingly common, and competition from Auckland and Australia means finding the right specialist is becoming more difficult.

Auckland IT & Digital: contract is having a moment

Auckland is still New Zealand's biggest tech market, and this quarter it has also been its most contested, with unemployment at 5.6 percent and underutilisation at 13.8 percent. Contract to permanent is sitting at around 60/40 in favour of contract, typically on 6 to 12 month terms, and job ads mentioning AI skills are up 94.1 percent year on year. The real growth is narrower than that headline suggests, and the clearest premium sits with AI-experienced product owners and developers who have actually built agents and work inside AI-assisted development day to day. Steady demand continues across cloud migration, data infrastructure, security uplift and ERP, CRM and finance systems work.

Auckland Accounting: moving again, but cautiously

After a slow 18 months or so, Auckland accounting is showing green shoots, and here at Find we've accepted that flat is the new up. Clients who held off are revisiting roles, particularly where the finance team needs more capacity or better information, and FP&A and business partnering skills are right up there as the most valuable. Good candidates haven't gone cheap, and they need a better reason to leave a safe harbour, such as a broader remit or a clearer path forward.

Wellington Accounting: the gap is closing

Our Wellington accounting vacancies are increasing quarter on quarter while salaries hold steady, with Finance Managers benchmarking at around $140,000 to $170,000 and Finance Business Partners at $130,000 to $160,000. We're seeing fewer 25 to 35 year old Chartered Accountants available alongside more experienced professionals aged 60 plus, so recruitment is shifting from "Who has applied?" back towards "Who do we know?"

Wellington Corporate: candidate rich, employer selective

Wellington corporate recruitment is currently candidate rich, employer selective and vacancy constrained, but appears to be moving from contraction into early improvement. Public sector restructuring has deepened the candidate pool across policy, HR, communications, procurement and legal, and the 7 November 2026 General Election could be the biggest catalyst, with demand expected in policy, procurement, HR, communications and legal once priorities become clearer.

What our data shows

Across our four markets, total adverts rose from 446 to 863 over the rolling 12 months to October 2026, while average applications per advert fell from 84 to 44, pointing to a less candidate-heavy market than earlier in the year. IT continues to favour contracting, particularly in Auckland at 85 percent of placements, while Find Recruitment Wellington is now around three-quarters contract.

Also in this issue

Our client spotlight looks at the Sisters of Compassion, from Suzanne Aubert's story to the Retreat Centre in Island Bay and the Compassion Soup Kitchen, which served over 90,000 meals in the 12 months to 30 June 2026. We also share highlights from our Insight Series evening with Fraser Whineray, former Chief Executive of Mercury, on the strategic and commercial leadership Boards increasingly expect from executives.

The full State of the Market Quarter Three 2026 report is available to download below. If you would like to talk through what any of this means for your own hiring or your own next move, get in touch with the Find team.