SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index - May

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• The rate of growth of the SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI) slowed to 0.8% in the quarter to May, down 0.3 percentage points from the February quarter.
• Despite falling from 5.1% last quarter, at 4.4% year-on-year (y/y), advertised salary growth continues to outpace inflation.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• Advertised salaries picked up slightly outside of the cities of the North Island, rising 1.0% from the February quarter.
• All other regions recorded a slowdown in advertised salary growth, most markedly the South Island outside of Canterbury.

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• Renewed collective agreements in healthcare roles supported strong growth for advertised salaries in Healthcare & Medical (11.3% y/y).
• Insurance & Superannuation and Banking & Financial Services roles recorded rises in advertised salaries quarter-on-quarter (q/q).

SEEK Country Manager, Rob Clark says:

“The rate of growth in advertised salaries has slowed since February, but at 4.4% in the year to May, is still outpacing inflation.

“Some of the strongest growth was as a result of collective agreements taking effect over the past year, including for Nurses and Primary Teachers.

“Even with the CPI falling to 4.0%, many industries are now recording growth slower than inflation, and with quarterly growth sitting at 0.8%, this is the slowest advertised salaries have grown in 18 months.”

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The rate of growth in advertised salaries slowed to 0.8% in the quarter to May, from 1.1% the previous quarter.

The y/y growth rate has also slowed substantially in line with the labour market, down to 4.4% in the year to May from 5.1% in February.

Note: Seasonally adjusted.
Source: SEEK.

Note: seasonally adjusted.
Source: SEEK.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS
Canterbury continues to lead the country for advertised salary growth, up 5.7% in the year to May, while the rest of the South Island recorded more sluggish growth at 3.9% which lagged inflation.

Advertised salaries across the North Island grew uniformly by 4.4% y/y, which was a slowdown for all of the regions, but notably for Wellington, which dropped from 5.1% in the year to February.

Note: Seasonally adjusted.
Source: SEEK.

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The Healthcare & Medical industry retains the strongest advertised salary growth (11.3%) thanks to pay agreements between the government and New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) including increases that came into effect in April.

Similarly, two of the three wage rises agreed as part of the Primary Teachers’ Collective Agreement came into effect within the past twelve months, driving average advertised salaries up 7.9% y/y for Education & Training roles. With the final base salary wage rise to be made in December, the ASI will likely remain strong for Education & Training roles for the next twelve months.

Consulting & Strategy also saw notably strong growth in advertised salaries (8.6%), although this has slowed considerably since February.

Advertised salary growth for about half of the industry classifications are lagging inflation, including Retail & Consumer Products at 3.9%, Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics at 3.5% and Hospitality & Tourism at a slower 3.0% y/y.

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