Resource Recovery industry insights
Explore the latest industry insights from Infometrics to learn more about the industries we work with and how they’re evolving.
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Resource Recovery industry summary
Employment in 2025
In 2025, the resource recovery sector employed 11,825 people, representing 0.4% of all filled jobs in New Zealand.
Employment grew strongly between 2020 and 2025, at an average rate of 3.4% per year. Growth is forecast to continue, with employment expected to increase by 3.0% per year between 2026 and 2031, well above projected national employment growth of 1.4%.
Businesses in the sector
In 2025, there were 1,375 resource recovery businesses operating in New Zealand, accounting for 0.2% of all business units nationally.
Future workforce demand
Between 2026 and 2031, the resource recovery sector is expected to generate 4,834 total job openings. These include:
- 2,324 new jobs created through employment growth
- 2,510 replacement job openings, reflecting workforce turnover.
Where people work
- Auckland: 4,350
- Bay of Plenty: 635
- Waikato: 1,051
- Wellington: 1,015
- Canterbury: 1,936
- Rest of North Island: 1,752
- Rest of South Island: 1,085
Top occupations
The top five occupations in 2025 were:
- Truck Driver: 1,628 jobs
- Sales Representatives: 394 jobs
- Labourers: 363 jobs
- Office Manager: 349 jobs
- Policy and Planning Manager: 342 jobs
These represent 3,075 jobs, 26% of total Resource Recovery in New Zealand.
Self-employment in 2025
In 2025, 911 workers in resource recovery were self‑employed, resulting in a 7.7% self‑employment rate.
This is lower than the national average of 15.2%.
Sector productivity
In 2025, the resource recovery sector generated $1,768 million in GDP, contributing 0.4% of New Zealand’s total GDP.
GDP growth was relatively flat between 2020 and 2025, at 0.05% per year.
Over the longer period 2015–2025, GDP grew at 2.4% per year, broadly in line with national GDP growth.
Productivity, measured as GDP per full‑time equivalent (FTE), was $158,672, compared with $174,045 nationally.
Ethnicity of workers
In 2025, the resource recovery workforce was ethnically diverse.
European workers made up the largest share, however at a slightly lower proportion than the national workforce.
Māori, Asian, and Pacific Peoples were all represented at meaningful levels.
Highest post‑school qualifications (2023)
Just over half of the resource recovery workforce hold no formal qualifications.
Age profile of workers
The age profile of resource recovery workers broadly reflects the national workforce.
- Workers aged 25–64 make up the largest share of employment.
- Older workers aged 65+ also account for a meaningful share of the workforce.
Female participation
Women made up 22.5% of the resource recovery workforce in 2025, compared with 48% across New Zealand.
Female participation in the sector has remained relatively stable over time, with a slight increase in recent years.
Hours worked
Resource recovery workers were more likely to work full‑time hours.
Most worked 40–49 hours per week.
A notable proportion also worked 50 hours or more.
Fewer workers were employed in part‑time hour brackets compared with the national workforce.
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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.