August 2026 Recruitment Market Update

Welcome to our quarterly recruitment market update. One month into my new CEO role at Consult, and this market is asking hard questions right now, of businesses building out their teams and capability, and of candidates weighing their next move.

Last week’s Stats NZ release showed New Zealand’s unemployment rate hit 5.6%, the highest since 2015, and underutilisation at 13.8%, the highest since 2013. Those numbers speak to the generalist middle, but the specialist end of the market is more resilient.

Right now, the New Zealand market is doing two different things at once. If you’re hiring for a generalist role (middle manager, a general commercial hire) you’re seeing more applications, longer processes, and salaries under pressure. If you’re hiring for a specialist (such as in tech transformation, financial services, senior finance) you’re competing for a small pool at speeds and salaries that don’t look like a soft market at all.

Our specialist consultants across tech, transformation, accounting, finance, financial services and professional services are seeing pockets of real momentum, alongside understandable caution in a recovering economy and ahead of the election (which has had little impact on activity so far, though some sectors are watching more closely than others). Our teams go into more detail in their respective specialist areas below.

There’s real intent behind getting capability right, too. AI is a big influence, prompting businesses to think more clearly about how their teams are built: where people add the most value, how to work more efficiently, and what capability they’ll need. Upskilling existing teams is as much a part of that conversation as new hires. It’s encouraging to see clients using this moment to build stronger, more future-ready teams, investing in the people they already have alongside new ones.

We expect this momentum to hold through the rest of the year. Measured rather than leaps, with the election remaining a watch-point and AI continuing to shape how businesses think about capability and structure.

Thanks to our brilliant team here at Consult for the insight and hard work behind this update. And over the coming months, I look forward to meeting more of you, whether that’s at an event, or in conversation about where your business or career is heading. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn, or reach out directly at karly@consultrecruitment.co.nz

Karly Boast, CEO @ Consult Recruitment

IT & Digital Recruitment Market Update

This year, hiring activity in the IT & Digital space has stabilised into a steady, normalised pattern reminiscent of pre-COVID conditions. Following the post pandemic boom and a subsequent two year recessionary plateau, the market has bottomed out. We are now seeing organisations actively re-engage their transformation programmes, driving a clear uptick in demand for contract talent across transformation projects.

In terms of high demand skill sets, we are seeing the strongest surge across the delivery space – specifically for Business Analysts, Project Managers, and Change Managers as newly kicked off transformation programmes gain momentum. Alongside delivery talent, there is a distinct spike in opportunities for Data and AI specialists, reflecting the market’s growing focus on emerging technologies and data driven initiatives.

On the candidate side, we are seeing stronger market confidence, with high performing contract talent being snapped up remarkably quickly and frequently considering multiple opportunities at once. Counter offers are increasingly common, and a major challenge this quarter is that client hiring processes are often moving too slowly to secure top tier candidates before they are taken off the market.

We expect all of these trends to continue steadily throughout the rest of 2026 and into 2027. As transformation programmes mature and data/AI strategies continue to roll out, demand for skilled delivery talent will remain high. To secure the best talent in this climate, maintaining momentum and speed during the hiring process will be key.

Enterprise & Transformation Recruitment Market Update

Transformation activity has been holding steady this quarter. Clients are still investing in technology modernisation and implementation work, however there are limited “big bang” transformation programmes kicking off in the market. Most top tier transformation contractors are either already in roles or actively interviewing, and demand for contractors has risen over the last 6 months.

No one organisation is hiring in bulk but the requirements are spread across the Auckland enterprise market. Delivery operating models are transitioning to product led delivery quite extensively across the market. Many organisations have been navigating change processes and structural changes which has slowed hiring activity. However these new structures align to new strategic intent, and so once new models have been bedded down we anticipate a lift in activity.

AI and data skills are in strong demand across the board. We are seeing heaving demand for skills in Cyber with AI-related security straining internal demand and exposing maturity gaps. Salesforce skills are also in strong demand, with very little skilled immigration available for this increase in demand.

These are all signals indicating a continued lift in transformation activity and contractor hiring into next year. It is important to run slick recruitment processes again to secure top contractor talent and to ensure you are timely with contractor renewals as there is competitive opportunity out in the market.

Accounting & Finance – Permanent Recruitment Market Update

Q1 was really busy in the accounting & finance permanent market. We placed more roles than we have in the last 24 months, predominantly in larger, more corporate businesses. While larger businesses seem to be getting on with hiring, the SME space is more cautious with some businesses still facing big challenges. Thanks to the exchange rate, export businesses are in a good spot at the moment, with solid activity there too. With the upcoming election, we’d traditionally expect a bit of a slowdown, but that hasn’t kicked in yet.

We are seeing most demand in the junior to mid-level space (up to $150k). The sub $90k level has really ramped up too – we think that’s partly because businesses are getting their heads around AI and its impact, and feeling more confident recruiting at that level again.

Candidate behaviour has been fairly neutral and passive, not huge amounts of quality active job seekers out there so we’re working extra hard to find great people for our clients.

Most clients are telling us their job advert response is of low quality, so our advice has been to leverage their own networks, as well as their teams. This is exactly where a recruitment partner can help tap into networks and passive candidates where a job ad alone won’t reach.

That works well in the favour of candidates, keep applying to jobs as the quality of people applying is generally pretty low. Again, working with a recruiter can help you stand out from the crowd and get you in front of the right opportunities faster.

Accounting & Finance – Contract Recruitment Market Update

In the Accounting & Finance contract space, we have seen a continuation of replacements being required for talent leaving for Aussie, who tend to sit at a certain level ($90k-$150k bracket). We’re also starting to see more positive, project-based roles which is great and maybe unexpected with all the news/worry everyone reads about. We have placed people setting up new systems, driving AI improvements and focussing on storytelling/dashboard building – great to see finance making a wider commercial impact.

On the economic front, it’s a mixed bag. Confidence dips a bit at the senior end (where hiring decisions tend to get more cautious), but everyone else is just cracking on regardless. The election is one to watch and may have a more interesting impact than the global economic noise. We haven’t seen any real impact yet, but if it ends up close, we’d expect that to ripple through into certain sectors (e.g. property).

In terms of skillsets in demand, we are seeing strong requests for audit trained, technically strong reporting accountants and on the other side for those with AI/process improvement and storytelling abilities. There is a demand for finance people who can make numbers make sense to non finance people.

One trend worth flagging on the candidate side: we’re seeing more senior people returning from overseas, particularly from USA.

Looking ahead to the rest of 2026 and into 2027, we’re expecting some impact from the election but otherwise it is business as usual. People keep heading to Australia (even though it’s not quite the fix they think it is), so replacement hiring will continue. And after a couple of years of everyone sitting tight, we’re starting to see people get a bit restless and deciding if not now then when as regards to both projects and personal jobs/careers.

Financial Services Recruitment Market Update

The New Zealand Financial Services recruitment market entering Q2 2026 is best described as cautiously pragmatic. Headline activity shows steady replacement hiring and targeted growth in regulatory and risk functions, but overall volume remains deliberate.

With the Reserve Bank managing sticky inflation and high input costs (particularly energy and global supply volatility) financial services margins are under pressure. Institutions are auditing existing talent capability before going to market, and prioritising internal redeployment where possible.

As policy platforms take shape ahead of the election, government-adjacent and heavily regulated entities are taking a wait-and-see approach to regulatory reform timelines.

Demand is concentrated in two areas. Regulatory and compliance specialists remain sought after, driven by conduct (CoFI), consumer credit (CCCFA), and AML/CFT obligations. Alongside that, banking and insurance are pushing hard for data analysts and AI integration experts as they lean into automation and legacy tech modernisation.

AI’s influence continues to grow, with institutions moving past pilot phases into operationalising automation for transactional finance tasks (AP/AR, basic reporting), raising demand for candidates who can interpret data commercially, not just process it.

Candidates, meanwhile, are more risk-averse this quarter. “Last in, first out” anxiety is real, and job seekers are vetting employer stability and culture closely before accepting offers. Passive candidates won’t move for lateral salary – it takes a 10-15% salary uplift, clear progression, or an explicit flexibility (e.g. hybrid, 2-3 days WFH) guarantee to get them across the line.

Advice for hiring clients:

• Streamline interviews. Protracted 4 step processes lose top talent to counteroffers. Move fast on an 80% spec match.
• Emphasise commercial acumen over tech mastery. Domain software can be trained, business partnering and strategic thinking can’t.
• Be upfront on WFH and culture. Vague flexibility policies cause offer-stage drop-outs.

Advice for candidates:

• Quantify commercial impact. E.g. cost savings, margin improvement, risk reduction. Technical skill alone isn’t enough.
• Be realistic on remuneration. 20%+ salary jumps are rare unless jumping into critical skill shortage niches.

We expect hiring volume to remain steady through the rest of 2026, with a seasonal push in early FYQ3 to close critical capability gaps before year end.

Professional Services Recruitment Market Update

The Professional Services market remains cautious rather than weak. Accounting and Advisory practices across New Zealand are holding a tight focus on cost control and cash flow, while seeing continued demand for compliance but a stronger need for practical business and tax advice. This creates a mixed environment: compliance work remains relatively defensive, while discretionary advisory work is more dependent on client confidence. Cash-flow management, tax obligations, restructuring and forward planning are likely to remain important client conversations.

Globally, hiring within the Professional Services space is becoming more targeted and business-case driven, with longer consideration periods for some roles, but demand remains for experienced accountants and specialist capabilities. The strongest candidates can still command attention because the underlying talent shortage has not disappeared.

We haven’t seen a direct election impact on the Professional Services recruitment nationwide. Where it’s likely to show up is in greater caution around discretionary hiring and longer decision-making timelines as the election approaches – but that’s a timing effect, not a demand effect. Within the industry, the underlying need for qualified and experienced talent remains a counterweight to that caution.

AI remains a key focus. AI is shifting from an interesting experiment to a practice-management and productivity issue. The most immediate opportunities are in document processing, bookkeeping, reconciliations, research, drafting, workflow automation, client communications and first-pass analysis. However, adoption remains uneven –  some NZ firms are actively embedding AI into workflows, while others are still experimenting or waiting for clearer governance and professional guidance.

The biggest opportunity is likely to be the transition from compliance provider to strategic adviser. Firms already have access to their clients’ financial information. The opportunity is to turn that information into recurring advice around cash flow, profitability, tax, business performance, succession and growth. AI should also create an opportunity for firms to increase capacity without increasing headcount at the same rate, provided governance and quality controls keep pace. The winning model may therefore combine: efficient compliance + automation + specialist tax expertise + recurring advisory + strong client relationships.

On the talent side, Professional Services candidates appear cautious about making unnecessary moves, but highly selective when they do move. They are increasingly asking, “What will I get here that I don’t already have?” with salary, flexibility, workload, culture and career progression all forming part of the decision.

Our advice to candidates: Be selective about the professional services firm, but flexible about the role. Build specialist and digital capability/AI competence, demonstrate commercial/client-facing skills, and evaluate the whole career proposition rather than salary alone.

The near-term outlook is cautiously positive but uneven. For accounting firms, the likely pattern is:

• Compliance: relatively resilient
• Tax advice: strong where legislation is changing
• Business advisory: dependent on economic confidence
• Restructuring/cash-flow work: likely to remain relevant
• Technology/AI: rapidly increasing in importance and priority
• Practice M&A/succession: continuing structural theme
• Talent: less constrained than during the tightest labour-market period

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:

Karly Boast | CEO @ Consult

Natalie Parr | Account Manager – IT & Digital @ Consult

Sarah Quintal | Enterprise & Transformation Manager @ Consult

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

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

Kristen Fredricsen | Consultant – Financial Services @ Consult

Harry Dev Singh | Professional Services Manager @ Consult