Bay salaries rise most in NZ

The Bay of Plenty region has experienced the biggest increase in in the average annual salary for jobs listed advertised on Seek, New Zealand.

The Bay saw a rise of almost 7 per cent over the last year, taking the average annual salary advertised on Seek from $64,339 to $68,625. It was closely followed by Tasman and Gisborne regions, who both noted increases of 6.2 per cent in annual salaries.

The top five highest paid regions are:

1 Wellington $80,934 1.9%
2 Auckland $76,338 2.3%
3 Canterbury $72,512 2.6%
4 Taranaki $72,376 -8.5%
5 Waikato $69,168 4.2%

The average annual salaries for jobs listed on New Zealand's leading online employment market place increased by $1,674, or $94 per month after tax, year on year to June 2015.

The latest data from Seek has revealed that average salaries have grown, but only by 2.3 per cent across the board, with the national average advertised salary now sitting at $74,965.

Wellington topped the list as the region with the biggest pay packets, almost $6,000 above the national average. Roles advertised in this region average an annual pay packet of $80,934, 2 per cent higher than last year.

Janet Faulding, general manager of Seek New Zealand said: "Numerous factors influence where people are choosing to work; from flexible working arrangements, to a company's value proposition and employer reputation.

''But it doesn't diminish the reality that people still demand a competitive salary and one that recognises their skills and contributions. While there is commentary around slowing economic indicators, I would encourage employers to take a balanced look when it comes to deciding 'to pay rise or not to pay rise' - with the total cost to replace an employee being significantly higher," said Ms Faulding.

"Awarding performing employees with a pay increase is often a somewhat inconsequential cost to the business compared to having to replace them if they leave. It is accepted across human resourcing that it typically costs businesses three times as much to fill roles once loss of productivity, time to hire and resource to retrain is factored in. From a pure cost perspective, it makes complete sense to reward your employees with a competitive remuneration package, or performance bonus if they are a standout performer".

The top five highest paid industries are:

1 Consulting and Strategy $99,046 2%
2 Engineering $92,479 2%
3 Construction $92,142 2%
4 Information and Communication Technology $92,082 1%
5 Mining, resources and Energy $91,506 -8%

The growth in salaries has been driven by a number of industries. Only three of the 28 classifications hosted on Seek experienced a decline in average annual salary.

"Consulting and strategy roles were on average, the highest paid roles advertised on www.seek.co.nz. They experienced a 2 per cent increase in advertised salary, noting an average salary of $99,046", said Ms Faulding.

"This increase was driven by significant growth in pay packets for Environmental and Sustainability consulting roles, which grew by an impressive 11 per cent, to $88,396. Management and Change consulting roles and Corporate Development consulting roles also contributed to this increase, with their average salaries increasing by 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively".

"It is encouraging to see that there has been upward movement in salaries across the job ads posted on Seek. Hirers recognise the importance of rewarding high performing employees appropriately as we know that when employees feel valued and rewarded for their work it delivers to the greater success of the company," Ms Faulding said.