This is really a grass is greener scenario because I just left there (NZ) along with a large amount of people I know because of the bad economy.
I heard a lot of doom and gloom about the economy before I came here, but finding a job proved to be straightforward. The pay leaves a lot to be desired, and I'm not intending to extend my visa because of that.
Caveat: I'm not living in a typical region of the country, I'm in Wānaka, which is easier to find a job in but also more expensive than most of the country.
I’ve been there but I figured those were all tourist jobs.
I guess I didn't make the distinction between "any job" and "any job in my field." It's very easy to get offers for "any job" in Wanaka on a working holiday visa, but to get a job that's even vaguely tech adjacent here, especially on a WHV, you really have to luck out, and even then it is much lower paid than it would be in the US.
I think in 2014 the local trade IT association was much more active in trying to recruit foreigners/WHV holderd, I heard they wound up recently due to financial problems
NZ is really greener though. Economy is shite everywhere until further notice.