Career development
The 2025 Public Service Census shows that just over half (51%) of public servants continued to feel that they were encouraged and supported to apply for developmental opportunities. Close to two-thirds (63%) reported that they had access to the learning and development they need to do their job well, almost unchanged from 2021.
Work intentions over the next 12 months
In the 2025 Public Service Census, more than half (54%) of respondents said they had no immediate plans to leave their current position, slightly down from 2021 (59%), compared to 10% who said they were actively applying for another role. Over the next 12 months, 17% expected to apply for a different role while a further 9% wanted to do a secondment or temporary move within their agency or in another agency.
A small number (6%) reported they would like to change jobs but didn’t think they could.
Reasons to consider leaving
In the 2025 Public Service Census, anyone who said they were considering leaving their current role (either permanently or temporarily) was asked why. Lack of career progression opportunities (42.4%), being unsatisfied with pay/remuneration (39.4%) and wanting more interesting work (32.7%) were the top 3 reasons.
Reasons for considering leaving
Turnover and tenure
Unplanned turnover measures the rate that organisations lose permanent staff due to reasons they hadn’t planned for such as resignations, retirements and dismissals. The 2025 figure is 9.9% which is down from 11.9% in 2024 and is a near historic low. Unplanned turnover peaked at 17.3% in 2022, during a period of post-covid labour market pressures within the Public Service, and across the wider economy more generally.
Health measures by occupation and age group
In the year to 30 June 2025, Public Service employees took on average 10.3 days of sick and domestic leave, up slightly from 10.2 days in 2024, to the highest level since measurement began in 2003. It has increased each year since 2020 (7.6 days). The 2023 Southern Cross / Business NZ Workplace Wellness Report found that average employee absence rates from New Zealand workplaces were at their highest level since the survey began in 2012. The report discusses potential drivers for this increase, such as COVID-19.
The 2025 Workforce Data shows that the average length of service of Public Service employees increased by 0.3 of a year to 8.3 years. This measure is based on tenure within a single organisation, not the Public Service as a whole, and excludes those on fixed-term employment agreements. The average length of tenure, which peaked at 9.5 years in 2016, had been in decline prior to 2025. This decrease was largely attributable to the rising annual influx of new recruits into agencies. The number of new recruits as a share of all employees (12.5%) in 2025 is down from 2023’s record high (21.3%) and at its lowest since 2010 (12.4%)