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> Our Publications > New Zealand Outlook > 2003 > December
Wages,
jobs boosted by strong economy NEW Zealand's economy continues to bubble
along with strong growth in salary and wages rates,
accompanied by continued growth in the demand for labour,
according to Statistics New Zealand.
Salary and wage rates (including overtime) rose by 0.8
per cent in the September 2003 quarter, the largest rise
since the series began in the December 1992 quarter.
This follows a rise of 0.5 per cent in the June 2003
quarter. On an annual basis, salary and wage rates
(including overtime) were 2.3 per cent higher in the
September 2003 quarter than in the September 2003
quarter.
Public sector salary and wage rates (including overtime)
rose 1.1 per cent in the September 2003 quarter, the
largest quarterly rise since the June 1998 quarter.
Annually, public sector salary and wage rates rose 3 per
cent, the largest annual rise since the September 1887
quarter.
A large contribution to the rise came from increased
salary and wage rates for public sector teaching
professional (up 5.8 per cent annually).
Private sector salary and wage rates (including overtime)
rose 0.6 per cent in the September quarter and were 2.1
per cent higher than in the June 2002 quarter.
As proof of New Zealand's vibrant economy the
unemployment rate stands at 4.4 per cent with European
unemployment at 3.3 per cent.
Employment has shown an upward trend for four years now,
with growth averaging 0.7 per cent per quarter over that
period, with numbers of unemployed falling to 88,000 in
the current quarter.
The working age population has shown strong growth since
mid-2001, with more than half of the growth attributable
to net gains in permanent and long-term migration. The
increasing supply of labour has fed employment growth in
response to a strong demand for labour in the economy.
This demand has absorbed the growing labour supply and
also drawn from existing groups of both the unemployed
and those not in the labour force.
The September 2003 quarter shows an estimated 1,939,000
people employed (compared with 1,878,000 a year ago). The
increase in employment was driven largely by females, and
those living in the Auckland region.
The seasonally adjusted total labour force stood at
2,027,000 for September.
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