Quarrying industry insights
Explore the latest industry insights from Infometrics to learn more about the industries we work with and how they’re evolving.
Infometrics infographics
Click on these infographics from Infometrics, or read the summary below.
Quarrying industry summary
Employment in 2025
In 2025, the quarrying sector employed 1,979 people, representing 0.07% of all filled jobs in New Zealand.
Employment grew at an average rate of 1.9% per year between 2020 and 2025. Growth is forecast to slow, with employment expected to increase by 0.3% per year between 2026 and 2031, compared with 1.4% nationally.
Businesses in the sector
In 2025, there were 372 quarrying businesses operating in New Zealand, accounting for 0.06% of all business units nationally.
Future workforce demand
Between 2026 and 2031, the quarrying sector is expected to generate 439 total job openings. These include:
- 67 new jobs created through employment growth
- 372 replacement job openings, reflecting workforce turnover.
Where people work
- Auckland: 307
- Bay of Plenty: 76
- Waikato: 380
- Wellington: 89
- Canterbury: 232
- Rest of North Island: 455
- Rest of South Island: 440
Top occupations
The top five occupations in 2025 were:
- Truck Driver: 145 jobs
- Production Manager: 134 jobs
- Mining Support Worker: 103 jobs
- Machine Operators: 80 jobs
- Earthmoving Plant Operator: 70 jobs
These represent 534 jobs, 27% of total Quarrying in New Zealand.
Self-employment in 2025
In 2025, 138 quarrying workers were self‑employed, resulting in a 7% self‑employment rate.
This is below the national average of 15.2%.
Sector productivity
In 2025, the quarrying sector generated $144 million in GDP, contributing less than 0.1% of New Zealand’s total GDP.
GDP declined between 2020 and 2025, at an average rate of ‑3.3% per year.
Over the longer period 2015–2025, GDP grew at 1.6% per year, below overall national GDP growth.
Productivity, measured as GDP per full‑time equivalent (FTE), was $75,793, compared with $174,045 nationally.
Ethnicity of workers
In 2025, quarrying workers were predominantly European, with both European and Māori represented at slightly higher proportions than the national workforce.
Asian and Pacific Peoples represented at much lower proportions.
Highest post‑school qualifications (2023)
Among quarrying workers with formal qualifications, they were more likely to hold vocational and trade‑related qualifications than the national average.
Just over half of the workforce hold no formal qualifications.
Age profile of workers
The age profile of quarrying workers differs slightly from the national workforce:
- A smaller proportion of workers are aged 15–44
- Most workers are in the 45–64 age range
- Workers aged 65+ make up a meaningful share, reflecting experience‑based roles and long tenure.
Female participation
Women made up 16% of the quarrying workforce in 2025, compared with 48% across New Zealand.
Female participation in the quarrying sector has seen a noticeable increase over the last decade.
Hours worked
Quarrying workers were more likely to work full‑time and extended hours.
Most worked 40–59 hours per week.
A notable share worked 60 hours or more, compared with the national workforce.
Fewer workers were employed in part‑time hour brackets.
Jump to:
Automotive • Collision Repair • Commercial Road Transport • Gas • Logistics • Mining • Passenger Services • Quarrying • Resource Recovery
These reports were defined by MITO Limited. Data sourced from Infometrics and Statistics New Zealand.