Fred News – December 2025

December news at Fred

What a year we’ve all had.   We are all so close to popping a cork, diving into the pavlova, and pulling out the jandals.  Less than a week to go!

As a team we have worked across the business landscape NZ wide, and can say we have so much respect for the way our partnerships have navigated the terrain we have been in, with unprecedented unemployment and work flow only just improving for most.  It has been a year of mixed stories, some thriving, some making tough decisions to down size or close doors entirely, the challenges have been very real.  The good news is, all the data is pointing towards a strong recovery, with tangible evidence in many industries to support we are already well on our way.

At Fred we can report our clients are absolutely making moves.  With record partnerships and work flow, it is a great feeling to close out 2025 so positively.

Our team continues to celebrate new milestones, our second Christmas as a team this year celebrated over a lunch at Brick Bay, with growth from 4 to 14 dedicated and hard working people who genuinely love the work we do.  Our first Fred baby is due this month for Lucy Larkman, we can’t wait for this news, and know Lucy will be an amazing mum.  We also know she will miss her clients too much to stay away too long.

2025 saw us dabbling in our first awards.  We were so proud to be named finalists for 2 Degrees ‘Employer of the Year’ Seek’s ‘Candidate Experience’, and ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ categories, and won three nationwide categories with the Sourcr awards in ‘Marketing Agency of the Year’, ‘Health & Safety Agency of the Year’ and ‘Manufacturing & Warehousing Agency of the Year’.  We will continue to push ourselves to meet our own high standards and expectations into 2026 and know this means our clients continue to get the very best people and service when they engage our team.

Stats for the Month of Dec:

• Advertised salary data is in.  Canterbury leads the way in salary increases with a 3.2% YOY increase in salary growth advertised according to the latest Seek data, closely followed by the rest of the North at 3% YOY. A great way to come into 2026, and validation that the Canterbury region is thriving.

• Job advertising on Seek is up another 4% this quarter on last, and a healthy 9% YOY – a sure sign of positivity in the employment market.

• Chats out of Australia are very positive – generally Aus and the UK markets lead the way for us by around 6 months, adding to the positivity of a prosperous future ahead in economic and employment growth.

• Contrary to expectations around this time of year being a little flat, Fred reports the busiest month of year with clients full steam ahead on recruitment.  We anticipate a continued steady rise in support requirements into the first quarter of 2026.

• The healthcare market remains busy as demand for qualified pharmacists continues across New Zealand. Following the recent pharmacist intern assessments, our team at FredMed has been working around the clock to secure suitable roles for newly qualified pharmacists, supporting both candidates and employers during this critical transition period.

As always our clients remain as important across the Christmas break as you are to us in the year, so please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any urgent last minute staff requirements, there is always someone on call at Fred to pick up the phone!

Wishing you all a safe, relaxing holiday break with your families and friends and we look forward to seeing you again in 2026.