Every question, every answer, every source

As of 16 October 2026, the main divide is fairly clear: National and ACT emphasise growth, business investment and labour-market flexibility as the route to more jobs and higher wages; Labour, the Greens and NZ First put more emphasis on direct wage increases, collective rights and government-supported training/jobs. The election is on 7 November 2026. Reuters

At a glance

Party	Job creation	Wages	Retraining / skills	Employment rights
National	Growth, infrastructure, exports, investment and easier hiring; says its plan supports 220,000 additional jobs over four years	Higher wages mainly through productivity/growth; no new taxes	More trades training; paid workplace learning such as Earn as You Learn	More employer flexibility and less compliance; supports current 90-day trials
Labour	Public infrastructure/building programme; Future Fund; targeted job guarantees	Restore pay-equity system; $4/hour immediate rise for care/support workers; stronger KiwiSaver	Expand Apprenticeship Boost by 30,000; $1,000 tools grant; Māori-led training	Stronger collective/worker protections; restore pay equity and Fair Pay-style mechanisms
Greens	Government-backed jobs guarantee for unemployed young people; green/care economy	Stronger minimum wages and collective bargaining; higher pay/worker protections	Paid placements for nurses, teachers and social workers; just-transition support	Most expansive: stronger union rights, employment security and protections
NZ First	More emphasis on putting NZ workers first, reducing reliance on migrant labour, trades/youth programmes	Increase minimum wage annually for three years	More Trades Academy places and Youth Guarantee places	More worker-oriented than National/ACT, but less expansive than Greens/Labour
ACT	Reduce regulation and employment costs to encourage businesses to hire	Freeze adult minimum wage for three years; introduce lower training wage for under-20s	Training wage intended to make employers more willing to hire inexperienced workers	Most employer-flexibility-oriented: 90-day trials, oppose Fair Pay Agreements, reduce employment regulation

National: "grow the economy and jobs follow"

New Zealand National Party is pitching job creation primarily as an economic-growth problem. Its 2026 economic plan combines infrastructure spending, export growth, investment incentives, RMA/planning reform and lower regulatory costs. National says Budget 2026 forecasts 220,000 jobs over four years, with wages growing faster than inflation. National Party

For skills, National is backing more trades training and programmes such as Earn as You Learn, which combines paid workplace experience with formal qualifications and mentoring. National Party

For employment relations, National's approach is to make it easier and less costly for small businesses to employ people. Its small-business plan includes simpler employment administration, easier seasonal hiring and faster resolution of minor employment disputes. National Party

In short: National expects higher employment and wages to come mainly from a stronger, more productive economy rather than mandated wage increases.

Labour: jobs plus stronger worker protections

New Zealand Labour Party is proposing considerably more direct government involvement.

Its Start Work Now programme would accelerate social-housing construction, school upgrades and hospital repairs, explicitly aiming to put people back into work. It also plans to expand Apprenticeship Boost to 30,000 additional people, with a $1,000 tools grant for apprentices and tradies. Labour Party NZ

For Māori employment, Labour proposes Māori-led vocational training aimed at moving people into skilled, well-paid employment. It also proposes a job guarantee for eligible NZ-trained graduate nurses. Labour Party NZ

On wages, Labour's most concrete promise is to restore pay-equity legislation within its first 100 days and give about 65,000 care and support workers an immediate $4/hour increase from January 2027. Labour Party NZ

So Labour's model is essentially: public investment + apprenticeships/training + stronger bargaining/pay-equity institutions + targeted wage increases.

Greens: government as employer of last resort and stronger rights

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand go furthest toward direct government intervention in employment.

Their newly announced Jobs for Young People programme would guarantee a pathway into employment for 16–24-year-olds who have been out of work for six months, with jobs in community infrastructure, environmental restoration and services. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

They have also just announced paid practical placements for students training as nurses, teachers and other essential health/social-support workers, including help with relocation where necessary. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

On rights, the Greens explicitly frame employment policy around decent pay, job security, collective voice and stronger employment protections. They also support making union membership the default for new employees, with an opt-out mechanism. Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand

Their broader employment philosophy is therefore: if the private labour market isn't producing enough decent jobs, government should intervene directly, while giving workers substantially more collective bargaining power.

NZ First: wages + "New Zealand workers first"

New Zealand First sits somewhere between the two blocs economically.

It has promised to increase the minimum wage every year for the next three years, alongside a substantial increase in Working for Families. New Zealand First

For retraining and young people, NZ First has backed expanded Trades Academy places and Youth Guarantee places, with the stated aim of getting young people with low/no qualifications into skills and employment. Budget 2026 allocated $69m to double Trades Academy places and $87m for 1,000 additional Youth Guarantee places. New Zealand First

It is also proposing to scrap the current accredited-employer working-visa model, arguing that employers should first look to New Zealand workers and that migrant labour should fill genuinely critical shortages. New Zealand First

In short: NZ First combines higher minimum wages and more training with a strong preference for employing New Zealanders before importing labour.

ACT: make hiring cheaper and more flexible

ACT New Zealand has the sharpest contrast with the Greens and Labour.

ACT proposes to freeze the adult minimum wage for three years and introduce a training wage at 60% of the adult minimum wage for under-20s during their first 12 months with an employer. Its argument is that lower mandated labour costs would encourage businesses to create entry-level jobs and train inexperienced workers. ACT New Zealand

ACT also favours substantially greater employer flexibility: it supports 90-day trials, opposes Fair Pay Agreements and wants employment-relations rules simplified. ACT New Zealand

On retraining, the emphasis is therefore less on government-funded retraining programmes and more on making it economically attractive for employers to take on inexperienced workers and train them on the job.

The real choices for workers

If you reduce the platforms to the four things you asked about:

• Creating jobs: National/ACT → grow businesses and reduce hiring costs. Labour → government investment plus private-sector growth. Greens → government should directly create jobs when the market doesn't. NZ First → prioritise NZ workers and expand trades/youth employment.
• Raising wages: Greens/Labour/NZ First → use minimum-wage, pay-equity or collective mechanisms. National → wages rise through productivity and economic growth. ACT → avoid mandated increases and let wages be determined more by the market.
• Retraining: National/NZ First/ACT favour work-based pathways and trades in different forms; Labour puts more money into apprenticeships and targeted Māori training; Greens put particular emphasis on paid training/placements and a just transition.
• Employment rights: Greens and Labour offer the strongest expansion/restoration of collective worker protections. NZ First is relatively worker-focused on pay but less expansive institutionally. National favours a more employer-friendly regulatory environment. ACT goes furthest toward flexibility for employers and away from collective regulation.

One important caveat: these are party promises, not predictions of what will actually become law. Under MMP, the eventual employment programme could be substantially shaped by coalition negotiations. Policy.nz's 2026 comparison is useful for seeing the proposals side-by-side, while the NZCTU has separately published a worker-focused scorecard showing which parties answered its questions on Fair Pay Agreements, pay equity, 90-day trials, minimum wages, unions and other rights. Policy.nz

For a more decision-focused comparison, I can next rank the parties for workers or compare their policies for low-paid, middle-income and skilled workers.