More mid-sized businesses expect New Zealand’s economy to improve, with some planning to add staff and raise pay. A separate logistics update suggests that confidence is emerging alongside customers who remain careful about spending.
RNZ’s account of a MYOB-commissioned survey says 51 percent of more than 350 business leaders expected improvement over the next year, while 27 percent expected a decline. The survey concerns a particular business segment, rather than every New Zealand employer.
Hiring plans are a useful signal, with limits
Among respondents, 34 percent intended to increase full-time roles and 55 percent intended to increase wages and salaries. These are stated plans. They are not vacancies already advertised, guaranteed pay rises or a count of new jobs created.
MYOB executive Paul Voges described mid-sized firms as an important source of investment and growth. As the survey’s commissioner and a business-software supplier, MYOB has a commercial interest in the segment. The findings are useful with that context attached.
A different view from the delivery network
Freightways’ quarterly results, also reported by RNZ on 29 October, show why optimism and caution can coexist. Its New Zealand express-package volumes rose 2.9 percent, but volumes from existing customers increased only 0.3 percent; much of the improvement came from market-share gains.
The company said fuel costs were squeezing discretionary spending, and customers were willing to wait longer for cheaper road delivery. This is one operator’s trading experience, not a representative consumer survey. It cannot directly confirm or disprove the MYOB respondents’ expectations.
For business owners and jobseekers
The two accounts suggest different questions. A shop owner needs to know whether their own customers are ordering more and accepting prices. A jobseeker needs to know whether an employer’s intention has become a funded vacancy with suitable hours and duties.
For migrant-owned firms and applicants alike, the encouraging part is that some employers are planning ahead. The unresolved part is how quickly those plans will turn into activity in particular sectors and places.
Sources: RNZ on MYOB’s survey and Freightways’ first-quarter results, checked 29 October 2026. Survey intentions and company trading figures measure different things.
