The adult minimum wage in New Zealand will be rising to NZD 22.70 (14.27 USD) per hour beginning 1 April 1, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced, as part of broader reforms he unveiled on February 8 to fight inflation.

The increase in the minimum wage will beNZD 1.50 (USD 0.94) from the current minimum wage of NZD 21.20 (13.33 USD).

“In tough times, it’s critical to support those who struggle the most to make ends meet. Those on low incomes make impossible trade-offs between food and medical care, dry homes and a pair of shoes. These families need our support now more than ever and an inflation-adjusted lift in the minimum wage will means thousands of New Zealanders do not go backwards,” Hipkins said in a statement.

Hipkins said in a 2022 review, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Analysis estimates that a 7% increase in the minimum wage will only have a minor inflationary impact of 0.1% on the wages portion of the GDP.

The training and starting-out minimum wage will also both increase to NZD 18.16 (USD 11.42) per hour or 80% of the adult minimum wage, which is still an increase from the current rate of NZD 16.96 (10.67 USD) per hour.

The new minimum wage rates will affect around 222,900 employees who will see an average of NZD 60 (37.73 USD) extra in their paychecks each week, the Ministry said.