SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index - August 2023

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS 

• The SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) rose 5.1% year-on-year (y/y).[1]
• This is the fastest advertised salary growth on record, with data back to January 2016.
• The ASI rose by 1.3% quarter-on-quarter (q/q), the same as the previous quarter, showing no sign of slowing.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• All parts of NZ recorded strong advertised salary growth in the year to August.
• Auckland (4.7%) lagged slightly behind the rest of the country.
• The fastest growth was in Canterbury (6.5%).

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• Engineering (7.6%) experienced the fastest ASI growth of any of the large industries.
• Advertised salary growth in Information & Communication Technology (2.8%) continued to be relatively sluggish, lagging all other industries.

[1] Year-on-year refers to the the quarter to August 2023 (June, July, August) v. the quarter to August 2022.

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

Advertised salaries have continued to grow at a robust pace, up by 5.1% year-on-year (y/y), as shown in Figure 1. This is the fastest growth on record in the ASI, with data starting in January 2016.

Figure 1: Annual growth of SEEK ASI
 

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figures.
Source: SEEK.

The q/q growth rate was 1.3%, the same as it had been in the previous quarter (March-May), as shown in Figure 2.
 
There’s no sign of advertised salary growth starting to slow in NZ, despite a softening in labour demand.
 
Figure 2: Quarterly growth of SEEK ASI

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figures.
Source: SEEK.

The ASI in NZ is growing faster (5.1%) than in Australia (4.6%), as shown in Figure 3. NZ advertised salary growth has continued to accelerate, while in Australia it has flattened off after a very strong 2022. The differences between NZ and Australia likely reflect a few factors. One is that inflation has been slightly faster in NZ (1.1% q/q in Q2 2023, vs 0.8% in Australia). Another is that minimum wages have increased slightly faster in NZ (7.08%) than in Australia (5.75%). Labour demand has been similar across both countries, with unemployment at very low levels, and job ads down by 25.9% since May 2022 in NZ and 24% in Australia.

The ASI has continued to grow faster (5.1%) than the StatsNZ Labour Cost Index (LCI), which rose by 4.3% in the year to the June 2023 quarter. The LCI measures the change in wages and salaries for all jobs, whereas the ASI reflects the change in advertised salaries for roles on SEEK.
 
Figure 3: Annual growth of SEEK ASI NZ compared to the Labour Cost Index and SEEK ASI AU

Note: ASI for NZ and AU is the smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figure. LCI is seasonally adjusted.
Source: SEEK and StatsNZ.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The ASI is calculated for five regions of NZ: Auckland, Wellington, and the rest of the North Island, plus Canterbury and the rest of the South Island. All regions recorded robust growth in advertised salaries in the year to the August quarter. Auckland lagged behind the rest of the country, but at 4.7%, advertised salary growth was still strong. Canterbury and the rest of the South Island had the fastest advertised salary growth over the year.

After a period in which it lagged behind the rest of the country, Wellington experienced solid growth in the past year (4.8%), just exceeding Auckland (4.7%).
 
Figure 4: Growth of SEEK ASI by region over time

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figures.
Source: SEEK
 
INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
Most parts of the labour market are experiencing relatively rapid growth in advertised salaries. A little over half of the job types tracked by the ASI experienced advertised salary growth of 3% or greater y/y(Figure 5).
 
Figure 5: Proportion of sub-industries experiencing 3% or faster advertised salary growth

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figures.
Source: SEEK
 
Among the largest industries, Engineering experienced the fastest growth in advertised salaries (7.6%), beating out Healthcare & Medical (7.3%). Advertised salaries in Information & Communication Technology have been relatively sluggish, up only 2.8% in the year, mirroring a similar trend observed in Australia. Figure 6 shows the growth in advertised salaries in the biggest 10 industries; all industries are shown in Table 2.
 
Figure 6: Growth of SEEK ASI by industry over time

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted (‘trend’) figures.
Source: SEEK

Table 2: Growth of SEEK ASI by industry

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