Median weekly earnings rose by 8.8% this year as more Kiwis entered full-time employment, but women and disabled people remain disadvantaged, according to Statistics New Zealand.
Median weekly earnings from wages and salaries rose to $1189 in the year to the June 2022 quarter, the largest annual increase since Stats NZ began measuring the data in 1998.
Women’s median weekly earnings increased by $95 (up 9.9%) to $1055 in the year to the June 2022 quarter - the highest annual percentage increase on record. Median weekly earnings for men increased by $73 (up 5.9%) over the year to $1320.
The gender pay gap saw a slight increase in the June 2022 quarter.
The pay gap is now 9.2%, up from 9.1%. The figure is based on median hourly wage and salary earnings.
“The large increase in median weekly earnings for women this year coincided with more women working full-time and fewer in part-time employment,” Stats NZ labour market manager Malak Shafik said Wednesday in a media release.
While unemployment was low overall in the June 2022 quarter, disabled people were still experiencing unemployment at higher rates than non-disabled people.
The unemployment rate for disabled people aged 15 and over was 6.8%, compared with 3.1% for non-disabled people.
Stats NZ says older people are disproportionately represented in disability data due to the increased likelihood of disability with age.
People aged 65 years and over are also less likely to participate in the labour market, which can distort comparisons between disabled and non-disabled people’s labour market outcomes.
When restricted to those aged 15 to 64, the unemployment rate was 7.9% for disabled people and 3.3% for non-disabled people.
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