Salaries for Professions New Zealand

New Zealand's Colourful Currency

ENZ compiles salary and wage information for professions in New Zealand by analysis of jobs advertised in New Zealand’s major publications. The salary survey was carried out in 2012/ 2013 and covered a variety of occupations listed below. Typical salaries are given for junior, intermediate and senior positions if possible. ENZ is hoping to extend this survey in the future to cover more professions.

Salaries are annual unless otherwise stated.

Job ads in New Zealand often do not mention remuneration. Salaries are generally negotiable, within limits.

For comparison, the average hourly wage in New Zealand for the quarter ending 30 September 2012 was $27.31 according to Statistics New Zealand. This would give an annual salary of around $53,000, working standard full-time hours.

In the September 2012 quarter, the employment rate in New Zealand was 63.4% and the unemployment rate was 7.3%. Job numbers continued to rise especially in accommodation, food and retail trade industries.

Figures from Statistics New Zealand’s June quarterly surveys analyse average earnings by occupation and region. Professionals had the highest hourly median earnings at $29.41 followed by managers at $26.64, clerical & administration workers at $21.00 and technicians & trade workers also at $21.00 per hour in the 2012 survey.

The median weekly earnings for all New Zealand in the June 2012 quarter for those in paid employment was $800. By region, Auckland had the highest median weekly earnings at $863 followed by Wellington at $850 and Taranaki at $800. Canterbury had the highest median weekly earnings in the South Island at $767.