The country added more new jobs in January. 

Filled jobs were up 0.3%, reaching 2.36 million roles across all industries, Stats NZ said today. 

That overall increase emerged despite a decline in primary industries, where filled job numbers declined 0.2%. 

Filled jobs in goods-producing industries declined 0.2% month-on-month. 

But the service industries added 8361 jobs in January, up 0.5% in December. 

Earlier today, Seek’s Employment Report showed hiring activity rose 4% in January after a difficult 2024. 

The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey showed, overall, confidence was up, but companies’ confidence in their own futures took a hit. 

Business confidence rose four points to +58 in February. 

“The economy remains on the path to recovery as interest rates fall and our commodity export prices outperform expectations,” ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner said. 

“It seems clear from a wide range of indicators that the economy returned to positive growth in the last three months of last year.”