Wage increases slowing

NZCTU MEDIA RELEASE

6 November 2012

Wage increases slowing

Latest Labour Cost Index and Average Wage data for the September quarter show a slowing of both wage increases and job growth, says CTU Economist Bill Rosenberg.

“The LCI shows a slight fall in annual wage and salary increases to 1.9 percent (down from 2.0 percent in the year to June). For those who got a rise in their pay, the median increase in the last quarter fell from 3.0 percent to 2.6 percent and average increase fell from 3.6 percent to 3.1 percent. However only 56 percent of people got a pay increase in the last year.

Full-time equivalent jobs fell slightly in seasonally adjusted terms, while job numbers rose more slowly than in the previous quarter, echoing widespread predictions of a slowdown in the economy in the second half of the year.”

The average wage increased 2.8 percent in the year, down from 2.9 percent in the year to June, and 3.8 percent in the year to March.

“With many people still finding times very tough, it is important that wage increases ensure people have a living wage”, says Rosenberg. “Nothing has been heard from the government on the minimum wage review which would usually have finished its public consultation process by now. We hope they are not planning to slow increases for those who need them most. The minimum wage increase flows on to many people on low wages."

"Many unions and community organisations are campaigning for a Living Wage, recognising that the minimum wage and the low wages paid to many workers are inadequate for a family to able to afford a basic but decent life style above the poverty level.”

The statistics also show an opening of gaps. The LCI shows wages and salaries for central government employees – also under threat of job losses – rose only 1.3 percent for the year, compared to 2.1 percent in the private sector.

The average wage showed an opening in the gender pay gap from a 12.6 percent gap in September 2011 to a 13.9 percent gap in September 2012. “Increases in the female average wage were 4.8 percent over the last two years, against 6.9 percent for men, widening the pay gap”, Rosenberg says.

ENDS

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