New Zealand logs second-largest growth in weekly, hourly wages

New Zealand's median weekly and hourly earnings from wages and salaries recorded their second-largest growth on record to continue outpacing the country's inflation, according to data from Stats NZ.

Median weekly earnings grew by 7.1% ($84) over the year to hit $1,273, the second-largest annual rise on record and just behind last year's annual growth.

"Median weekly earnings continued to grow strongly over the year, especially for women, whose earnings rose 8.1% annually, following record growth the previous year," said labour market manager Malak Shafik in a media release.

Meanwhile, median hourly earnings from wages and salaries went up 6.6% ($1.95) to reach $31.61, also the second-largest percentage growth on record, following the largest increase recorded a year before.

Finance Minister Grant Robertson hailed the development, pointing out that wages continued to grow faster than the country's inflation which is at six per cent.

"Unemployment remains low and wages are rising above inflation to help Kiwis deal with cost-of-living pressures. This is another great result and shows the government’s plan for the economy continues to keep New Zealand moving in the right direction," Robertson said in a statement.

Gender pay gap relatively unchanged

Despite growing wages, Stats NZ data also revealed that the country's gender pay gap remained relatively unchanged at 8.6% for the June 2023 quarter.

Median hourly earnings for women went up 7.7% over the year to hit $30.15, while men saw a seven-per-cent increase to reach $33.00.

This is the largest-ever increase recorded for women, and the second-largest annual increase for men, according to Stats NZ.

"Although women saw historically strong growth in median hourly earnings, there was no statistically significant change in the gender pay gap over the year, meaning that it remained relatively unchanged since the June 2022 quarter," Shafik said.

Government initiatives for gender pay gap

The findings come as the Labour Party recently made a commitment to launch a gender pay gap reporting system for large organisations.

The New Zealand government has long been urged to address the country's gender pay gap, with some organisations taking it upon themselves to publish theirs in a bid to close the disparity.

"We know that many businesses are leading the charge and are already reporting their gender pay gap. Around 200 companies including Spark, Air New Zealand, My Food Bag, and Sharesies are already or committed to voluntarily reporting their gender pay gap," said Workplace Relations and Safety Associate Minister Priyanca Radhakrishnan in a statement.

"We'll be engaging with them to learn from their experience and establish a universal model for reporting so there is consistency and guidance for employers and workers."