Wages NZ
Pay rates for the same work rose 2.0% over a year, slower than consumer prices at 4.1% (Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation, Jun 2026 qtr).
Updated
Average ordinary-time hourly earnings across all industries from the Quarterly Employment Survey, quarterly from 1989.
The Labour Cost Index for all salary and wage rates across all sectors, quarterly from 1992. It measures changes in pay for the same work at the same level, so it is not affected by changes in the mix of jobs.
An average, pulled up by high earners; median earnings are lower. Changes in the mix of jobs (e.g. more low-paid jobs) move the average even if no one's pay changes; see the Labour Cost Index for pay rates for the same job.
Employment, pay and benefit figures cover different groups. Average hourly earnings summarise paid work, while unemployment uses the labour force definition and benefit counts use eligibility rules. Read those definitions before comparing the measures.
Read the period beside each number before comparing it with another figure. A monthly observation, a quarterly result and a financial year cover different spans of time. The latest release can also revise earlier observations. The chart and downloads keep the published periods so you can check which figures are being compared. A change in wages describes what happened during that period; it does not by itself explain why it happened or identify the effect of a government policy. Definitions and coverage matter as much as the size of a change.
Sources: Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; Stats NZ Tatauranga Aotearoa; NZ in Numbers calculation. Last retrieved 10 October 2026.