Annual wage growth of 1.6 percent

Salary and wage rates, which include overtime, grew 1.6 percent in the year to the September 2010 quarter, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the same as the movement in the year to the June 2010 quarter. Annual labour cost index (LCI) wage growth had declined from a peak of 4.0 percent in the year to September 2008 quarter to 1.5 percent in the year to the March 2010 quarter.

Salary and wage rates for the private sector increased 1.6 percent in the year to September 2010 quarter. The public sector rose 1.3 percent in the year to the September 2010 quarter, which is the lowest annual movement since a 1.2 percent increase in the year to June 1999 quarter.

Salary and wage rates rose 0.5 percent in the September 2010 quarter. Private sector salary and wage rates rose 0.5 percent while public sector rates rose 0.3 percent.

The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), also released today, showed that average total hourly earnings increased 1.3 percent for the September 2010 year. This is the lowest annual increase in average total hourly earnings since the June 1994 year.

For the September 2010 year, total paid hours and full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) increased 2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total gross earnings increased 0.8 percent for the September 2010 quarter, while total paid hours increased 0.2 percent. 

The LCI tracks nearly 6,000 positions and measures changes in pay rates for a fixed quantity and quality of labour.

The QES is designed to measure quarterly estimates of change in, and levels of, average hourly and average weekly (pre-tax) earnings, average weekly paid hours, and the number of filled jobs. QES statistics are derived quarterly from approximately 18,000 surveyed business locations in a range of industries and regions throughout New Zealand.

Geoff Bascand 2 November 2010

Government Statistician 

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