SEEK Advertised Salary Index - February

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• The SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) rose by 1.0% in the quarter to February compared to the previous quarter.
• Despite dropping 0.1 percentage points since November, the year-on-year (y/y) growth of 5.0% is faster than inflation, and faster than seen in Australia.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• All parts of New Zealand experienced solid growth in the SEEK ASI.
• Canterbury experienced the fastest rise in advertised salaries, at 1.4% quarter-on-quarter (q/q) and 6.9% y/y.

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• The fastest growth in advertised salaries was in Healthcare & Medical (11.2% y/y), bolstered by some major collective agreement settlements.

SEEK Country Manager, Rob Clark says:

“Advertised salaries are growing at a decent pace, outpacing inflation and Australian salaries, helped by some large pay settlements in the public sector.

“But as the jobs market cools, we’re seeing salaries grow more slowly. Advertised salaries were up 1% in the past quarter, the slowest quarterly rate since late 2022.”

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

Advertised salaries on SEEK in New Zealand were 1% higher in the most recent quarter (Dec ’23-Feb ’24) than in the one prior. This pace of growth is solid and is faster than inflation (0.5% in Q4 ‘23). But SEEK ASI growth has slowed, from 1.4% in the quarter to August, to 1.1% in the November quarter, to 1.0% in February.

The y/y growth rate has also slowed, from 5.1% in the year to the November ‘23 quarter to 5.0% in the year to the February ’24 quarter. This is faster than inflation (4.7% in the year to Q4 ’23) and faster than advertised salary growth in Australia (4.4%).

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The South Island is experiencing the fastest rise in advertised salaries, with both Canterbury (6.9% y/y) and the rest of the South Island (5.4%) outpacing the rest of the country. But SEEK ASI growth has been solid across the country; only in the North Island outside Auckland and in Wellington did the SEEK ASI lag behind inflation, which is at 4.7%.

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The fastest SEEK ASI growth was in the Healthcare & Medical industry (11.2% y/y), where a pay equity agreement for nurses[1], and strong demand for workers, contributed to a rapid rise. Of the large industries, many are seeing solid growth in advertised salaries, with the exception being Hospitality & Tourism, which lagged other industries at 3.1% y/y.

[1] As outlined at Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand.

The SEEK ASI in Advertising, Arts & Media fell slightly over the year (-1.4% y/y) and Real Estate & Property only just rose (+0.4% y/y). All other industries recorded some growth in advertised salaries over the year.

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