Labour market eases as salaries increase

Friday 25 July 2008

Labour market eases as salaries increase

Employers are finding it easier to attract staff but average salaries in New Zealand have increased substantially, according to the analysis of 73,000 jobs listed on Trade Me Jobs in the first half of 2008.

“Since the last quarter of 2007, we have seen the average salary increase 3.7% from $55,583 to $57,664,” said Trade Me Jobs head, Jimmy McGee.

“The labour market has definitely eased, with applications per job up 8% over that period. However, wage inflation was strong,’’ he said.

IT continues to dominate the highest paid professions with IT architects, project managers and functional consultants, all averaging pay rates over $100,000.

“Outside of IT, the top five paid professions are doctors ($106,823), construction project managers ($95,378), engineering managers ($92,843), in-house legal counsel ($90,440) and financial controllers ($89,081),” said Mr McGee.

Wellington remains the highest paid location, buoyed by the large number of public servants and service companies, followed by Auckland and new entrant New Plymouth. Regional and secondary urban areas such as Central Hawkes Bay and Timaru saw the greatest salary softening.

“We are seeing two distinct trends at present. Pay rates for unskilled and semi-skilled are flat, while pay rates for mid-level earners and the highly skilled are increasing at rates above the national average.”

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