Construction in New Zealand
This page gathers the figures we hold on construction in New Zealand. Each section names its own source.
Each source groups industries its own way, so the edges of construction differ a little from section to section.
- EBITDA margin10.1%share of sales, 2025 financial year
- Still trading after three years58%of businesses started in the year to February 2022
- Wage rate change+1.6%the year to June 2026
Margins
In the 2025 financial year, EBITDA was 10.1% of sales across the industry, and operating profit 7.1%.
Wages and salaries took 20.6% of sales.
What is the average profit margin in construction?
Across every construction business added together, EBITDA was 10.1% of sales in the 2025 financial year, and operating profit 7.1%.
Every business in the industry is added together, so the figures are not a typical business. Sales include government funding. Stats NZ marks the latest year as provisional.
Source: Stats NZ, Annual Enterprise Survey. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Margins computed by onestepright.
The two surveys count sales and years differently. The figures sit side by side and do not compare exactly.
| Measure | New Zealand (%) | Australia (%) |
|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | 10.1 | 10.1 |
| Operating profit margin | 7.1 | 9.5 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian Industry (8155.0). Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
How many businesses are still trading
About 58 in every 100 were still trading three years later.
Stats NZ counts a business as still trading only if it was trading at every February count since it started.
Source: Stats NZ, New Zealand Business Demography Statistics. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Businesses that started and stopped
Each is a share of the businesses trading in February 2025.
Stats NZ marks the latest year as preliminary.
Source: Stats NZ, New Zealand Business Demography Statistics. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Rates computed by onestepright.
What costs did
What wage rates and input prices did in this industry. Each comes from its own Stats NZ series and grouping of industries.
Each bar comes from its own Stats NZ series, named below.
Source: Stats NZ, Labour Cost Index, private sector, all salary and wage rates. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Source: Stats NZ, Producers Price Index, inputs. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Each country measures these its own way. The figures sit side by side and do not compare exactly.
| Measure | New Zealand (%) | Australia (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector wage rates | 1.6 | 3.3 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Wage Price Index, Australia (6345.0), private sector, total hourly rates excluding bonuses. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Your own cost mix
Enter the share of your costs that go on inputs and on wages. The box works out what those two changes add to your total costs, if your costs moved with the industry. Nothing you enter leaves this page.
Your own suppliers' prices and wage rises are the better figures, if you have them.
How businesses set prices
In 2022, 83.1% of construction firms with six or more staff that set their own prices added a margin to cost.
The survey asked about each firm's main product only.
Source: Stats NZ, Business Operations Survey 2022. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
See construction in Australia.
See construction in the United Kingdom.
See construction in the United States.
Who in your business can move a price, and by how much? The pricing check takes about ten minutes.