KEY POINTS:
Labour costs rose 3.9 per cent in the year to the June, Statistics New Zealand said today.
This is the largest annual increase since the series began in the December 1992 quarter.
The salary and wage rates (including overtime) component of the Labour Cost Index (LCI) rose 3.2 per cent.
The non-wage labour costs component rose 8.1 per cent.
The increase in the non-wage labour costs component of the LCI was partly driven by a 9.3 per cent increase in annual leave and statutory holidays, the largest annual increase since the series began.
The increase in minimum annual leave entitlements from three weeks to four weeks a year on April 1 was the main reason for the increase.
Employers' workplace accident insurance costs rose 9.3 per cent in the year to the June 2007 quarter, following a 4.8 per cent increase in the previous year. The latest annual increase reflects increases in both pay rates and ACC levy rates.
Employer superannuation costs rose 4.2 per cent. For the private sector, employer superannuation costs increased a record 5.2 per cent.
For the public sector the increase was 3.2 per cent.
The index for other non-wage labour costs (motor vehicles available for private use, medical insurance, and employer-related low interest loans) rose 1.8 per cent in the year.
The cost of providing motor vehicles for private use and medical insurance both increased, while employer-related low interest loans decreased.
Labour costs including overtime rose 0.7 per cent in the quarter with private sector costs up by 0.8 per cent and public sector costs up by 0.3 per cent.
- NZPA
