Engineering roles are dominating a list of New Zealand's fastest-growing job opportunities, with new figures from Seek revealing which occupations have seen the biggest surge in demand over the past year.
New data from the employment website showed geotechnical engineers topped the list, with job advertisements increasing by 137.5% between June and August 2026 compared with the same period last year.
Electricians followed closely behind, recording a 133.3% in job ads, while surveyors rounded out the top three with growth of 123.8%
Engineering, construction and trades roles accounted for half of the top 10, reflecting growing demand for workers involved in major infrastructure projects.
Seek chief economist Dr Blair Chapman said New Zealand's infrastructure pipeline was helping drive demand across the sectors.
"These major transport, water and other infrastructure projects are creating demand for roles including geotechnical engineers, surveyors, site engineers, health and safety advisers and electricians," he said.
Chapman said the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) had forecast infrastructure spending to continue growing year-on-year over the next five years.
An increasing focus on electricity in New Zealand's energy system was also supporting demand for electricians, he said.
Health and safety advisers recorded the fourth-largest increase in job advertisements, up 111.8%, followed by mechanical engineers at 96.6%.
People and culture advisers were sixth on the list, with advertisements rising 76.5%, while site engineers recorded significant growth of 75.0%.
Technology roles also on the rise
While engineering and construction dominated the top of the rankings, technology-related positions had also recorded significant growth.
Support engineers and platform engineers placed eighth and ninth on Seek's list respectively, with job advertisements increasing by 73.3% and 72.0%.
"The growing use of AI and other digital tools by businesses is supporting demand for platform engineers and support engineers, who help businesses build, run and maintain their technology systems," Chapman added.
Digital marketing specialists rounded out the top 10, with job advertisements jumping by 68.4%.
Seek said the figures provided a snapshot of where hiring demand was growing as the year drew to a close, offering an indication of the opportunities potentially available for jobseekers in 2027.
Figures from Stats NZ showed 171,000 people are now out of work, up from 164,000. (Source: 1News)
The figures came as New Zealand's labour market continued to show signs of recovery, despite unemployment remaining elevated.
Seek's latest employment report showed job advertisements rose 7.8% in September compared with the same month last year, although monthly growth had slowed to just 0.1%.
Trades and services recorded a 16.8% annual increase in advertisements, while manufacturing, transport and logistics rose 26.1%.
However, competition for jobs also remained strong, with applications per advertisement increasing 2.9% in September, the sharpest monthly rise since April 2024.
The country's unemployment rate climbed to 5.6% in the June quarter compared to 5.4% in March — the highest in 11 years, according to figures from Stats NZ.
That equated to around 171,000 unemployed New Zealanders, while a further measure of people wanting more work rose to 13.8%.
NZ Institute of Economic Research recently said youth unemployment had hit "crisis level", likely due to the emergence of AI and other technological changes.
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