‘We’re human beings, for God’s sake’: Why 7 in 10 Kiwis say the job market is rigged against them

Friday, 1 May 2026

A generation of working New Zealanders is losing faith in the country’s core promise: that hard work leads to stability and a better life. This is part 2 in our series on social cohesion.

The trust New Zealanders have in the job market is on a steady decline.

Research from the Helen Clark Foundation shows only 31% of New Zealanders agree that everyone has a fair chance of getting the jobs they seek, a sharp drop from 39% in 2024.

This points directly to an erosion in the belief of meritocracy – the idea that your hard work will pay off with opportunities in the workplace.

These findings are particularly worrying because a job is the single most important tool you’ll have over your working life to build wealth and stability. If people stop believing that they’re being given a fair go, this becomes pervasive and starts to bleed into other areas of life.

The staggering insight in this data lies in the level of consensus we have across age groups. This isn’t a young vs old divide. It’s something affecting all of us.

Yes, younger Kiwis (18-24) report the lowest level at 30%, but older Kiwis don’t have a much more optimistic view.

Of those aged 45-54, only 35.4% believe they will have a fair chance at getting a job, similar to the 35% for those aged 55-64.

Indeed, this anxiety reflects the experience of Steve,* a 54-year-old digital marketing expert, who has found himself rejected by an industry that once gave him awards for his work.

Steve tells me that after our initial discussion, which included an anecdote of being rejected via email in 120 seconds, things haven’t got much better for him.

And it isn’t only the quick rejections that hurt.

As a numbers nerd at heart, Steve has turned his experience into a personal project, using a spreadsheet to track and record reasons and the time for a rejection.

He notes that in an employer’s market (the current case), the road from application to rejection can drag on for weeks.

For one role, he says that he was rejected after more than 70 days of waiting without actually speaking to the hiring manager. In that period, all he got was a brief screen interview, which saw him rejected for an actual interview.

Another rejection took 40 days and he still doesn’t know if a human being saw anything he sent in.

“We’re human beings, for God’s sake. We’re designed to communicate with one another. But this doesn’t apply when you’re applying for a job. Then ghosting is just fine.”

A complete breakdown in trust

Victoria Mulligan, the co-founder of Design Futures Aotearoa, says this comes down to a breakdown in trust on both the employer and the employee side.

Employers don't trust applicants because they assume every CV is written by ChatGPT and contains exaggerated claims. And Job seekers don't trust employers because they feel their hard work is being sent straight to a bot rather than being seen by a human.

The risk is that this becomes what Mulligan calls a “doom loop” where trust becomes so low that job seekers resort to sending out hundreds of applications and employers simply employ AI to reject them. It fundamentally turns the internet into an environment where robots spend more time talking to each other than actual humans.

Mulligan worries that both young workers entering the workforce for the first time and those in the latter stages of their careers could suffer “learned helplessness,” which leads them to lose hope altogether.

“When we make an effort, and it doesn't produce results, we don't just give up on that single task, but it spills into other things,” she says.

When people start to feel that their personal agency doesn’t matter, social cohesion becomes even more difficult to maintain.

Steve is a good example here. After facing rejection by AI from certain companies, he’s decided to stop giving them the privilege of his business. His frustration with the job market has seeped into his consumer habits at the checkout counter.

Mulligan says earning a salary is critically important, but work also offers a sense of meaning and agency that can’t be easily replaced. If more people start to feel they’re being rejected without even being considered, then the sentiment about being given a fair go in the workplace will only continue to plummet.

An imperfect system

Mulligan also issues a warning that employers should be cautious about trusting the AI systems too much.

She says these systems are often built on assumptions based on what the workplace currently looks like or what it looked like historically.

This, she says, has the potential to incorporate bias at a time when New Zealand is becoming more diverse.

AI systems will often fail to recognise the value of cultural contributions or non-linear career paths common in Māori or minority groups, she says.

“Service to community and connection to whakapapa aren't recognised when it doesn’t fit into certain keyword screening,” she says.

This bias is rarely intentional, but it can take many forms (age, race, experience) and can lead to the wrong hiring decision.

Steve has seen this first-hand, noting that many of the roles he initially applied for would be removed after someone was hired, only to return a few months later - a clear indication that the hire didn’t work out.

Mulligan notes that fixing this issue will be no easy task, but notes there is some movement internationally in terms of how AI is used in the hiring process.

Companies increasingly have to disclose whether they’re using AI, and some regulations give applicants the right to request a human review if they have been rejected by the machine.

Similar rules have not yet been formulated in New Zealand, but Mulligan believes businesses could benefit from taking note of these steps.

“There’s a real opportunity here for businesses to keep humans in the loop, especially as the battle for good talent heats up in the future,” she says.

*Not his real name.

So, what has your experience been while hunting for a job? Have you been rejected by AI? Do you think we need better rules to govern the way AI is used in hiring? Let us know in the comments below.