Growth in average earnings in the December 2020 quarter was strong, despite slowing wage inflation, Stats NZ said today.
| Quarter | QES ordinary time hourly | LCI adjusted |
| Dec-07 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
| Mar-08 | 4.7 | 3.4 |
| Jun-08 | 5.3 | 3.6 |
| Sep-08 | 5.7 | 4 |
| Dec-08 | 5.5 | 3.5 |
| Mar-09 | 5.4 | 3.3 |
| Jun-09 | 4.7 | 2.8 |
| Sep-09 | 4 | 2.1 |
| Dec-09 | 2.8 | 1.8 |
| Mar-10 | 1 | 1.5 |
| Jun-10 | 1 | 1.6 |
| Sep-10 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Dec-10 | 1.8 | 1.7 |
| Mar-11 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Jun-11 | 3 | 1.9 |
| Sep-11 | 3.2 | 2 |
| Dec-11 | 2.8 | 2 |
| Mar-12 | 3.8 | 2 |
| Jun-12 | 2.9 | 2 |
| Sep-12 | 2.8 | 1.9 |
| Dec-12 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Mar-13 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Jun-13 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Sep-13 | 2.6 | 1.7 |
| Dec-13 | 2.9 | 1.6 |
| Mar-14 | 2.5 | 1.6 |
| Jun-14 | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| Sep-14 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Dec-14 | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Mar-15 | 2.1 | 1.7 |
| Jun-15 | 2.8 | 1.6 |
| Sep-15 | 2.3 | 1.6 |
| Dec-15 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Mar-16 | 2.4 | 1.6 |
| Jun-16 | 2.1 | 1.5 |
| Sep-16 | 1.7 | 1.6 |
| Dec-16 | 1.3 | 1.6 |
| Mar-17 | 1.5 | 1.6 |
| Jun-17 | 1.6 | 1.7 |
| Sep-17 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| Dec-17 | 3.1 | 1.8 |
| Mar-18 | 3.5 | 1.8 |
| Jun-18 | 3 | 1.9 |
| Sep-18 | 2.9 | 1.8 |
| Dec-18 | 3.1 | 1.9 |
| Mar-19 | 3.4 | 2 |
| Jun-19 | 4.4 | 2.1 |
| Sep-19 | 4.2 | 2.4 |
| Dec-19 | 3.6 | 2.6 |
| Mar-20 | 3.6 | 2.5 |
| Jun-20 | 3 | 2.1 |
| Sep-20 | 3.6 | 1.9 |
| Dec-20 | 4.2 | 1.6 |
In the year to the December 2020 quarter, average ordinary-time hourly earnings in the quarterly employment survey (QES) increased 4.2 percent to $34.14. Average ordinary-time weekly earnings increased to $1,289, up 3.6 percent annually, as average weekly hours fell across the year.
The rise in average hourly earnings reflected falls in the number of filled jobs and hours paid in lower-paid industries like administration and support services, while jobs and hours in higher-paid industries remained relatively stable.
"The QES also showed wages growing in response to labour demand in booming sub-industries," business prices delivery manager Bryan Downes said.
"Building construction, for instance, saw strong growth in both jobs and average wages as firms expanded."
High rises in construction jobs has more information about rises and falls in filled jobs.
In contrast, the labour cost index (LCI) for salary and wages (including overtime) reported slowing wage inflation, increasing 1.6 percent in the year to the December 2020 quarter, down from 1.9 percent in the previous quarter. Wage inflation has been dropping since the December 2019 quarter when it peaked at 2.6 percent.
Unlike the QES, the LCI measures changes only in the cost of labour, and so excludes changes in the amount or type of work done.
"In the LCI, we can see that annual wage inflation is slowing as fewer employees have received wage increases," Mr Downes said.
"Over the past year, more than half of the positions surveyed received no wage increase."
In the year to December 2020 quarter, the proportion of employees receiving annual wage increases fell to 45 percent - the lowest proportion of increases recorded since the March 2010 quarter - with both public and private sector wage increases becoming less frequent.
| Quarter | Percentage of increases |
| Dec-07 | 57 |
| Mar-08 | 59 |
| Jun-08 | 61 |
| Sep-08 | 62 |
| Dec-08 | 60 |
| Mar-09 | 60 |
| Jun-09 | 55 |
| Sep-09 | 47 |
| Dec-09 | 44 |
| Mar-10 | 43 |
| Jun-10 | 46 |
| Sep-10 | 49 |
| Dec-10 | 53 |
| Mar-11 | 56 |
| Jun-11 | 58 |
| Sep-11 | 56 |
| Dec-11 | 57 |
| Mar-12 | 57 |
| Jun-12 | 56 |
| Sep-12 | 56 |
| Dec-12 | 55 |
| Mar-13 | 56 |
| Jun-13 | 55 |
| Sep-13 | 54 |
| Dec-13 | 54 |
| Mar-14 | 54 |
| Jun-14 | 57 |
| Sep-14 | 57 |
| Dec-14 | 59 |
| Mar-15 | 59 |
| Jun-15 | 57 |
| Sep-15 | 55 |
| Dec-15 | 54 |
| Mar-16 | 57 |
| Jun-16 | 56 |
| Sep-16 | 55 |
| Dec-16 | 55 |
| Mar-17 | 56 |
| Jun-17 | 57 |
| Sep-17 | 53 |
| Dec-17 | 51 |
| Mar-18 | 51 |
| Jun-18 | 52 |
| Sep-18 | 53 |
| Dec-18 | 56 |
| Mar-19 | 57 |
| Jun-19 | 58 |
| Sep-19 | 59 |
| Dec-19 | 61 |
| Mar-20 | 61 |
| Jun-20 | 56 |
| Sep-20 | 49 |
| Dec-20 | 45 |
"Annual wage inflation has been subdued, despite pockets of growth in industries where labour demand remains strong as the market adjusts to the impacts of COVID-19," Mr Downes said.
