SEEK Advertised Salary Index New Zealand - May 2023

The SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index (ASI) measures the growth in advertised salaries for jobs posted on SEEK in New Zealand. This report examines national trends up to the quarter ending May 2023 (March, April, and May 2023). The next quarterly SEEK ASI report will be released in September.

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

• Advertised salaries grew by 4.7% in the year to the May 2023 quarter, the fastest annual growth recorded in the SEEK New Zealand Advertised Salary Index (ASI), with data that begins in 2016.
• Quarter-on-quarter growth of 1.0% has slowed slightly from the previous quarters.

NATIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

Advertised salaries are growing at a solid pace, up 4.7% in the year to the May quarter 2023. Growth in the ASI dipped below 2% in 2020 but has picked up strongly since. Strong demand for labour has pushed year-on-year advertised salary growth to its highest recorded level.

Figure 1: Year-on-year growth of SEEK ASI

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

Although the year-on-year growth in advertised salaries is the fastest on record, much of this reflects rapid growth during 2022. The quarter-on-quarter growth rates have declined a little since their peak, with advertised salaries rising by 1% in the May quarter.

Figure 2: Quarter-on-quarter growth of SEEK ASI

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

Advertised salary growth is lagging inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 6.7% in New Zealand in the year to the March quarter 2023, outpacing the 4.7% growth in advertised salaries.

The SEEK ASI has picked up further and faster than Stats NZ’s Labour Cost Index (LCI). The LCI measures the change in wages for all jobs, whereas the SEEK ASI measures the change in advertised salaries for vacant roles. Advertised salaries tend to respond more quickly to changes in market conditions than wages for existing staff.

Figure 3: Year-on-year growth of SEEK ASI compared to Labour Cost Index

Note: SEEK ASI is smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). LCI is not seasonally adjusted. Source: SEEK and Stats NZ.

REGIONAL ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

The SEEK ASI is calculated for five regions of New Zealand: Auckland, Wellington, and the rest of the North Island, plus Canterbury and the rest of the South Island. Advertised salary growth has been strong across the country.

In the South Island outside Canterbury growth has picked up sharply after being relatively sluggish in early 2022.

Wellington (4.2%) continued to lag other parts of the country, driven in part by slow advertised salary growth for Government roles, but the gap between Wellington and elsewhere has shrunk.

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

Figure 4: Year-on-year growth of SEEK ASI by region

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

INDUSTRY ADVERTISED SALARY TRENDS

A range of industries related to home building (Construction; Engineering; and Design & Architecture) have also seen strong advertised salary growth over the year. Advertised salary growth continues to be incredibly strong in Advertising, Arts & Media, up 7% year-on-year; this is a relatively small industry, so salary trends can be somewhat volatile.

Several white-collar professional industries have experienced sluggish growth in advertised salaries, including Marketing & Communications (1.9%), Human Resources & Recruitment (2.5%) and Banking & Financial Services (2.7%). These industries have been most affected by the slowdown in economic activity as interest rates rise, and have been less affected by minimum wage rises than some other industries.

Table 2: SEEK ASI by industry

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

ANALYSIS: ADVERTISED SALARY GROWTH BY SALARY BAND

The lowest paid salary band saw advertised salaries grow by 4.9% year-on-year. This was the fastest growth of any salary band, with the highest experiencing growth of 4.4%.

This strong advertised salary growth for relatively low-paid roles reflects strong demand for labour in industries such as Hospitality & Tourism, plus relatively large increases in the New Zealand minimum wage, which increased by 7% on 1 April. Strong growth in advertised salaries for low-paid jobs has also been experienced in Australia.

This pattern – of advertised salaries at the bottom end rising faster than at the top end of the salary spectrum – has been consistent the past two years. In total, advertised salaries have risen 15.7% since Q1 2020 for the lowest paid roles, while the highest paid is only up 6.4% in total over the same period.

Figure 5: Cumulative growth of SEEK ASI by salary band since Q1 2020

Note: Smoothed seasonally adjusted data (‘trend’). Source: SEEK.

For more information about the SEEK NZ Advertised Salary Index and how it is measured see here.

Disclaimer

The Data should be viewed and regarded as standalone information and should not be aggregated with any other information whether such information has been previously provided by SEEK Limited, ("SEEK"). The Data is given in summary form and whilst care has been taken in its preparation, SEEK makes no representations whatsoever about its completeness or accuracy. SEEK expressly bears no responsibility or liability for any reliance placed by you on the Data, or from the use of the Data by you. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately.

About SEEK NZ

SEEK is a market leader in online employment marketplaces that span ten countries across Asia Pacific and Latin America. SEEK invests heavily to create innovative technology products to help people live more fulfilling and productive working lives and help organisations succeed.

In 2022, SEEK was recognised as the overall winner of the AFR BOSS Best Places to Work awards and also won the award for the Best Place to Work in the Technology Industry.