Advertised salaries on Seek New Zealand grew by 5.1% in November 2023 quarter when compared to November 2022 quarter.

The Advertised Salary Index slowed slightly in the November quarter, to 1.1% quarter-on-quarter from a 1.3% quarterly rise in August. This was also the slowest quarter-on-quarter growth since early 2022.

Seek country manager, Rob Clark said, “The New Zealand labour market remains strong, but has cooled in recent months. This is reflected in the Seek Advertised Salary Index, which shows a slight slowdown but still a rapid pace of growth overall.”

“Despite the strong growth advertised salaries are still not keeping pace with inflation, which is running at 5.6%,” Clark said. “For Kiwis feeling the pinch from the cost of living, this data confirms that advertised salaries are still growing rapidly, and one of the best ways to get a pay rise is to get a new job.”

All parts of New Zealand are experiencing rapid growth in advertised salaries of 5% or more, year-on-year. The North Island is lagging behind the South, with Wellington (5.2% y/y), Auckland (5.1%) and the rest of the North Island (5%) growing more slowly than Canterbury (6.7%) and the rest of the South Island (6.1%).

On a quarterly basis, Canterbury saw an increase of 1.4%, followed by Auckland (1.3%), Rest of South (1.2%), Rest of North (1.1%), and Wellington (1.0%).

Among the larger industries, advertised salary growth has been most robust in the healthcare & medical industry (8.7% year-on-year), followed by engineering (6.9%) and trades & services (5.9%). All the larger industries have recorded annual advertised salary growth of 4% or more.

Quarterly growth was led by design and architecture (1.8%) and science and technology (also 1.8%).