Stats NZ says the election led to an increase in jobs being filled in October.
New data released by the agency on Tuesday showed the number of filled jobs rose by 13,046 when seasonally adjusted in October, compared to September.
This was driven by an increase in the number of filled jobs in the public administration and safety sector, which includes defence, public order, and regulatory services.
In a statement on Tuesday, Sue Chapman, Stats NZ's business employment insights manager, pointed to the election as being a significant factor.
"The election was the biggest driver for the increase of filled jobs in the public administration industry," Chapman said. "The Electoral Commission employs around 20,000 people over the election period."
There's an assortment of roles involved in holding an election, including working at a voting place, an electorate headquarters and a regional office.
The Stats NZ data showed that there were 23,442 more filled jobs in October 2022 in the public administration and safety sector than there was a year prior.
The second-largest increase was in healthcare and social assistance, up 13,683, followed by accommodation and food services, up 7839.
Three listed industries saw annual decreases. Agriculture, forestry and fishing was down 2475 jobs between October 2022 and October 2023, professional, scientific, and technical services was down 1669 jobs, and administrative and support services was down 828 jobs.
"The age groups 25 and older all increased in numbers for filled jobs from October 2022 to October 2023. The largest increase was in the 35–39-years age group, up 22,900 jobs (9.2 percent)," StatsNZ said.
"The next largest increase was for the 30–34-years age group, up 19,407 filled jobs (7.0 percent). These two age groups accounted for 56 percent of the national rise of 75,544 filled jobs over the year to October 2023.
"All regions had increases in filled jobs for October 2023, compared with October 2022. Auckland recorded the largest rise of 35,302 jobs (4.5 percent), followed by Canterbury, up 9,081 jobs (2.9 percent), and Waikato, up 6,065 jobs (2.7 percent).
"Actual gross earnings on an accrual basis for the October 2023 month were $15.5 billion, compared with $14.3 billion for the October 2022 month."
