The Wellington market has continued to be buoyant. Coming through to the end of FY26, we are seeing a slow down on new roles due to budget allocation, and while there are large pieces of work in play across Government and the private sector that will continue into FY27, right now workforce planning sessions are happening.

As always, there are many contractors waiting for the 30 June rollover to get their contracts extended and confidence is high across a lot of our clients around extensions. We will see that activity really ramp up mid to late May.

For Wellington, the November 2026 election is now a major factor. We expect the current government to push harder on policy delivery while also campaigning for another term. The challenge is that restructures and realignments across the public sector have slowed hiring and reduced capability inside some agencies. The risk is that when teams need to shift into delivery mode, some of that capability will already have moved on. The global economy is also affecting business confidence with rising fuel prices stalling economic growth.

Organisations are still looking at different ways to build project teams. While contractor demand has improved from this time last year with demand growing where specific delivery capability is needed, there is still a focus on securing fixed-term and permanent resources. Candidates who have traditionally contracted are still open to fixed-term or permanent roles, depending on the work, organisation, flexibility and remuneration. Clients now need to move fast to secure them before they pick up a contract role.

The technology market is being shaped by delivery, resilience and productivity. Large IT transformation programmes continue to drive demand, and potential public sector projects could lift hiring across both contract and permanent roles this year. However, the days of broad digital spend are over. TUANZ has shared that businesses are under pressure to prove value from cloud, software, data and transformation investment. The shift they have seen is less “cloud-first” and more “cloud-smart”.

Cybersecurity, privacy, digital identity, GRC, AI governance and data capability are becoming increasingly important in Wellington, particularly given the concentration of government, regulated environments and public sector delivery. AI is already inside organisations, whether formal strategies are in place or not. The priority now is governance, literacy, ownership and making sure AI is used safely and practically.

Across corporate services, demand remains heavily influenced by public sector activity. Headcount reductions and restructures have seen some roles merged into other teams, reducing demand in certain areas. As restructures settle, we expect replacement hiring to increase, particularly where teams are stretched and critical work cannot be absorbed indefinitely.

We are still seeing high application volumes and people are remaining cautious, but there is more hope in the market than last year. Job security is front of mind, and many candidates are prioritising permanent and fixed-term roles. Our focus continues to be giving people as much feedback, clarity and support as we can through what remains a challenging market.