This section contains archived information that has been retained for reference purposes. To view current reports, please go to the Labour Market Information section.
The New Zealand Income Survey (NZIS) is conducted as an annual supplement to the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS) and results refer to the June quarter. All figures are not seasonally adjusted and are not adjusted for inflation, unless specified otherwise.
Average hourly earnings grew solidly over the year to June 2004 as the median rose by 2.3 percent to $15.34 and the mean rose 2.1 percent to $18.24. The mean shares all earnings across all workers and the median is the middle worker’s earnings (half earn more, half earn less). The median is less than the mean because a small proportion of workers have very high wages & salaries.
The gap between male and female earnings remained steady. Female median hourly earnings were 87.3 percent of male median hourly earnings, down marginally from 87.4 percent in 2003. There was a large fall in the gender pay gap for Maori in the past year, with Maori women earning 96.4 percent of what Maori men earn. There are many important differences in earnings by age, qualification, occupation and industry.
4 Average weekly income from all sourcesfor all people rose by 2.6 percent to $554 in the year to June 2004. Wellington no longer has the highest average weekly income of the 12 main regions, with the Auckland region now taking top spot at $627 in 2004.
| June 03 | June 04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Median hourly earnings | $15.00 | $15.31 |
| Average hourly earnings | $17.86 | $18.21 |
| Average weekly income | $540.00 | $554.00 |