Median hourly earnings
Definition
Real median hourly earnings from all wages and salaries for employees earning income from wage and salary jobs, as measured by the New Zealand Income Survey.
Relevance
Median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs is an indicator of the financial return from paid employment, independent of the number of hours worked.
Current level and trends
In June 2005, half of all people employed in wage and salary jobs earned more than $16.10 an hour. The median hourly wage for male employees was $17.50, while for female employees it was $15.
Real median hourly earnings increased by $1.58 per hour or 11 percent in the eight years to June 2005. The increase over this period was greater for female employees (11 percent) than for male employees (8 percent). The ratio of female to male median hourly earnings rose from 83 percent in June 1997 to 88 percent in June 2002, but fell slightly to 86 percent by June 2005.
Figure PW3.1 Median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs (in June 2005 dollars), by sex, June 1997 to June 2005
Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Income Survey
Age differences
In 2005, median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs were highest at ages 35–39 years ($18.80 an hour). This compares with $10 for 15–19 year olds. The increase in real median hourly earnings between 1997 and 2005 was smaller for 15–24 year old employees (6 percent) than for older workers (10 percent for those aged 25–64 years, 17 percent for those aged 65 and over).
Sex differences
In 2005, there was little difference between the sexes in median hourly earnings for wage and salary earners under 35 years. In all older age groups, the median hourly wage of employed men was considerably higher than that of employed women. In 2005, the difference between the sexes was greatest at ages 45–64 years, where the ratio of female to male median earnings for employees was 78 percent.
Figure PW3.2 Median hourly wage and salary earnings, by age and sex, June 2005
Source: Statistics New Zealand, New Zealand Income Survey
Ethnic differences
In June 2005, Europeans had the highest median hourly earnings for wage and salary earners at $17 an hour. This was $2 an hour higher than the earnings of Māori and Other ethnic groups. Median hourly earnings were lowest for Pacific peoples ($13.79 an hour).
Over the eight years to June 2005, increases in inflation-adjusted median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs were higher for Māori, at 18 percent, than for Pacific peoples or Europeans (each 13 percent). Employees from the Other ethnic group experienced the lowest increase in real median hourly earnings from wage and salary jobs (4 percent).
Regional differences
In 2005, workers in Auckland had substantially higher earnings than those in other regions. The median hourly wage for wage and salary earners was $17.44 in Auckland, $16.30 in Wellington, and $16.15 in Canterbury. Median wages were lowest in Southland, Tasman/Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast and Gisborne (all $15). Over the period 1998–2005, real median hourly wages increased most in Manawatu-Whanganui and Northland. They declined slightly in Wellington and Southland.
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