Last updated: 02 May 2025

Arable Labour Market Dynamics

• Quarterly median earnings for ‘Other crop growing’ are higher than the average across Muka Tangata industries but lower than the national average as shown across ‘All industries’.
• Employment typically peaks over December to March, leading to an increase in total filled jobs as demand for workers climbs over the season. Worker turnover rates (a sign of workforce stability) also rise as seasonal workers come and go.

 Industry dataset (economic indicators and labour market dynamics)  

Source: Linked Employer-Employee Data, Stats NZ¹

In these charts we provide two benchmarks for reference: 'agriculture, forestry and fishing' which covers all industries involved in growing crops, raising animals, growing and harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from farms or their natural habitats, and a benchmark for 'all industries' which includes every industry group in New Zealand.

Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED) data is produced by Stats New Zealand quarterly to measure labour market dynamics. There is a lag in data availability of around 14 months due to the time it takes for the data to be completed by employers, to flow through Inland Revenue, and for Stats New Zealand to undertake relevant transformations and quality checks². Here, we show the most recent data available at the time of publishing.

LEED data is available at the ANZSIC ‘group’ level, which is a broader level of classification than the ANZSIC class codes used for the workforce estimates. The relevant ANZSIC group for Arable is 015 Other Crop Growing³. As Sugar Cane Growing and Cotton Growing are not economic activities undertaken in New Zealand – this grouping is focussed on “Other Crop Growing n.e.c.” which includes growing horticultural crops and plants not elsewhere classified, including animal fodder crops such as hay, sudan grass and silage. A full list of inclusions is available on the ANZSIC webpage⁴.