April 2026 Recruitment Market Update

A lot has happened since our last update in December. Between global trade tensions, rising fuel costs and continued inflationary pressure, the global environment has shifted quickly. What started as a more positive outlook for 2026 changed in a relatively short space of time. But while there’s been disruption, we’re still seeing encouraging signs as businesses continue to adjust, adapt and continue to demand the best talent to help their businesses.

We recently ran a NZ Business Pulse Check to understand how businesses are responding to global trade tensions and ongoing economic pressure. If you’d like to get a sense of where the market is heading, we encourage you to read the full report here.

Recruitment activity, in terms of demand from clients and confidence in job seekers, was strong at the end of last year and into early 2026. We’ve been (pleasantly!) surprised that this hasn’t resulted in a marked change given the global situation and a general return to an uncertain economic environment.

We are seeing more considered decision-making, more targeted roles, and a clear focus on securing the right capability. With AI firmly in many organisations’ consideration, businesses are rethinking how roles are structured – to focus on where people add the most value, how teams operate more efficiently, and how to build capability for the future. So while the global context has increased uncertainty and refocused businesses back towards cost efficiency, the integration of AI capabilities means that clients are considering changes to teams and structures moving forward.

These impacts are playing out differently across each part of the market, as our specialist teams share below.Thanks for staying connected with us here. As always, if you’d like to chat about what we’re seeing in the market, feel free to reach out to us: info@consultrecruitment.co.nz

Angela Cameron, CEO @ Consult Recruitment

IT & Digital Recruitment Market Update

We’ve seen a lift in contract hiring activity in the IT & Digital market this quarter, particularly across delivery teams. Demand is strongest across delivery roles like Project Management, Business Analysis, Software Development, and Data Engineering. Clients are also looking for highly specialised, niche technology skillsets with specific needs and experience required rather than hiring broadly. Permanent hiring is still sluggish, with most businesses prioritising lean permanent teams with contractor capability to breathe in and out.

While there are signs of movement, the recovery we were starting to feel earlier in the year still feels considered. There’s a real sense that things could tip back into cost-cutting if global pressures continue, especially given how dependent New Zealand is on overseas supply chains and energy markets.

On the candidate side, people are open to moving, but they’re more selective and the best talent has multiple options. Top talent is able to prioritise roles that offer better remuneration and flexibility and are snapped up quickly.

From a client perspective, speed really matters right now. Strong candidates are often in multiple interview processes at once, so working with quality recruitment professionals can help you secure the best talent.

Looking ahead, while there is global uncertainty (and an election!), the reality is businesses will continue to demand the best tech talent in order to remain competitive. So while there are likely overall impacts to many organisations, most of our clients are committed to their course of action and need talented tech talent to get there.

Transformation Recruitment Market Update

We’re experiencing strong demand from our clients across the transformation space right now. A lot of organisations are dealing with technical debt that needs to be modernised, with many also exploring new ways of working. AI continues to be a key investment area with businesses looking at how they can embed it to drive efficiency and productivity.

Across both our corporate clients and those in the SME space – businesses are focused on resolving and transforming technology challenges. 

The current global climate isn’t slowing this down. If anything, early indications are that ongoing uncertainty may create more demand for contractors as organisations need to respond quickly and adapt. Demand is centred around AI-literate PMO professionals and Delivery Leads with strong technical depth.

The key trend we’re seeing is a clear swing back toward contract hiring, as businesses look to bring in the skills needed to deliver critical programmes while maintaining the ability to scale and flex. For candidates, this means there’s more opportunity in the contract market. To attract and retain top talent, employers need to offer interesting, well-paid work with flexibility – it’s no longer enough to rely on brand or stability alone.

From an advisory perspective, it’s important to partner early on with your resources supplier. Top transformation talent is limited, and working closely with a specialist partner gives you the best chance of securing the right people. At the same time, businesses should be thinking about how they can leverage AI to increase productivity and operate more efficiently.

Looking ahead, we’re expecting another strong quarter, particularly as we move into the new financial year and budgets open up, with continued demand for transformation capability to support change and delivery. If you are thinking about transformation and where to start – our transformation team are here to help.

Accounting & Finance – Permanent Recruitment Market Update

For Permanent Accounting & Finance recruitment, hiring activity in Jan-March has been solid, and we have also had a very strong start to FY27. We haven’t seen an impact yet from global tensions but generally, the mood has been more optimistic. Clients have been more willing to hire and candidates have also been more open to moving.

It is really important to note that NZ has lost a considerable amount of top talent to Australia and the UK, so we are spending a lot of time helping clients adjust their recruitment processes in order to ensure they don’t miss out on the few amazing people in the market!

Demand is strongest across the mid to senior level. We are seeing more roles in the $100k-$150k bracket with good demand in the $200k-$250k end of the market. The CFO space is a bit quieter. Interestingly, the transactional space has picked up for us over the past 6 months too. Roles are also becoming increasingly data-driven but requiring great soft skills also.

Candidates are becoming more open to moving, but it’s still proving difficult to find quality people in the $100-150k range as they are generally moving overseas.

Speed to hire remains important for clients – move quickly on quality candidates and focus on their soft skills alongside technical experience. Also, don’t assume that because we’ve been in a recession that it is easy to find great people. In pockets of the A&F space, it has never been harder to find suitable talent. Many clients have attempted to recruit themselves or use cut price recruitment models, only to realise that this doesn’t help them access the talent they want to hire.  

For candidates, being proactive and applying early continues to be important as we are still seeing high numbers of applicants. Basic things like don’t produce AI slop resumes actually makes a big difference! 

Accounting & Finance – Contract Recruitment Market Update

In the contract space for Accounting & Finance recruitment, we saw the usual March 31st year end rush for strong technical contractors. The contract market has had a busy start to the year and we’re also seeing the return of more senior roles alongside more major projects after a quieter 2025.

Demand remains focused on strong technical skillsets during this time of year. But generally in the contract space we continue to need relatively recently qualified audit talent to replace those going overseas. Systems implementations are being spoken about again, a good sign as they dropped off during the recession.

For contractors, the key advice is to stay visible, push your networks and remain open-minded about opportunities.

Looking ahead, we were seeing confidence return pre-Iran. Since then, it feels a bit more “wait and see” in the market. That said, people are still heading overseas so demand for contract roles is still there and very likely to remain in an uncertain market environment.

Professional Services Recruitment Market Update

Hiring activity across NZ’s accounting and professional services sector is steady but cautious. Following a slower 2025, we are seeing signs of gradual recovery in 2026, particularly in advisory, risk, and management consulting / transformation-focused roles within larger international firms. 

That said, many firms continue to take a measured approach – prioritising critical hires rather than large-scale team expansion. Mid-tier and boutique firms are showing more flexibility and opportunistic hiring, especially where they can secure talent from larger firms. Overall, the market is more active than last year, but not yet fully rebounded.

With ongoing economic pressures, accounting firms and practices are sitting somewhere between cautious and cautiously optimistic. It shows up in longer hiring timelines and more approval layers, increased scrutiny on headcount justification (in particular for permanent recruits), and a preference for candidates who can add immediate value. At the same time, firms particularly the Big 4 and larger international/mid market firms are still investing in areas aligned to regulatory change, ESG, and digital transformation, signalling targeted confidence rather than broad expansion.

We’re seeing gradual increase in contract hiring (particularly for project-based work or fixed terms – 12-18 months tenure), a transformation focus (ongoing investment in finance transformation, automation, and process improvement) and persistent talent shortages at the mid-level, exacerbated by reduced migration in previous years and lower graduate inflows.

We’re also seeing continued strong demand for roles that combine technical accounting and commercial thinking – particularly across technical accounting (IFRS), virtual CFO services, and transformation or data-led work.

On the candidate side, they are generally more considered and selective than in previous years. While there is still movement in the market, many professionals are prioritising stability and long-term career value over short-term salary gains – candidates are showing more willingness to stay put unless the opportunity is compelling. There’s a bigger focus on flexibility and hybrid working, company culture and leadership.

With top talent in demand and offers being made on the spot, clients are needing to move decisively when finding the right candidate, clearly articulate career development and flexibility to attract candidates and be open to transferable skills rather than waiting for a “perfect match”.

For candidates this is a good opportunity to focus on building commercial and stakeholder skills alongside technical expertise, consider opportunities that offer transformation or project exposure and stay open-minded to lateral moves or contract roles that can accelerate long-term career growth.

Looking ahead, the outlook is gradually positive. Hiring activity is expected to continue improving through 2026, particularly if economic conditions stabilise. Key expectations are a slow but steady increase in hiring volumes, continued strength in advisory, risk, and transformation roles, ongoing competition for mid-level and specialist talent and increased alignment between finance and technology/data functions.

That’s us for this update. If you enjoyed this and would like to receive future market updates and monthly news, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

As always, we’re keen to hear from you, so feel free to reach out to us with any feedback or questions: info@consultrecruitment.co.nz 

Authors:

Angela Cameron, FCA, FCPA | CEO @ Consult

Mike Messenger | Technology & Digital Manager @ Consult

Sarah Quintal | Enterprise & Transformation Manager @ Consult

Crispin Robertson | Accounting & Finance – Permanent Recruitment Manager @ Consult

Sam Patterson | Senior Consultant – Accounting & Finance Contract @ Consult

Harry Dev Singh | Professional Services Manager @ Consult