Advertised salary growth slows nationwide, especially outside cities

Advertised salary growth is slowing in many job sectors, according to SEEK, a major recruitment website. The SEEK Advertised Salary Index showed a small increase of 0.7 percent over the three months ending in February. This is a drop from an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent compared to the same time last year. Rob Clark, SEEK's Country Manager, noted that jobs in science and technology have seen the highest growth, with a yearly increase of 7 percent and a quarterly rise of 1.4 percent. In contrast, government jobs had an annual growth of 6.3 percent but only 0.9 percent for the last three months. Other sectors, like Marketing and Communications, reported a yearly salary growth of 5.2 percent, but this decreased to just 0.4 percent quarterly. Engineering also saw a decline, dropping from an annual growth of 4.3 percent to only 0.1 percent in the latest quarter. The decrease in salary growth is affecting the national average, especially in larger industries. Even with relatively strong job markets in 2024, regions outside of Canterbury in the South Island have experienced slower growth, with the annual rate now at 0.5 percent, down from a peak of 6.4 percent last August. In terms of regional salary growth, Auckland led with an increase of 0.9 percent in the last quarter, followed by Canterbury at 0.8 percent. Areas like Wellington and the Rest of the South Island grew much more slowly. The Advertising, Arts, and Media sector faced challenges, showing a yearly decline of 1.7 percent in salaries.