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.
Despite the decline, advertised salaries remains robust, and are still outpacing inflation.
Figure 1: Quarter-on-quarter growth of SEEK Advertised Salary Index
Note: seasonally adjusted.Source: SEEK.
Figure 2: Year-on-year growth of SEEK Advertised Salary Index
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.
Table 1: SEEK Advertised Salary Index growth by region
Figure 3: Year-on-year growth of SEEK Advertised Salary Index by region
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.
Table 2: SEEK Advertised Salary Index growth by industry
-ENDS-
When reporting SEEK data, we request that you attribute SEEK as the source and refer to SEEK as an employment marketplace.
Commentary relating to the SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index can be attributed to Rob Clark, SEEK Country Manager.
About the SEEK Advertised Salary Index (ASI)
The SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index measures the change in advertised salaries over time for jobs posted on SEEK in New Zealand, removing much of the effect of compositional change. The SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index is a complement to existing data about the growth in wages and salaries in New Zealand, including Stats NZ’s Labour Cost Index (LCI). The LCI is a measure of the pace of wages growth across the economy. The SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index provides a timely and frequent read on the pulse of advertised salary growth in New Zealand for vacant roles.
More information about how the SEEK ASI is put together and the current data can be found here.