Just half of New Zealand's workforce received a pay increase last year, according to a survey from a job-search site released today.
However, workers are staying optimistic and 83% of people asked said they are expecting to get a pay bump in the next 12 months.
Seek said the survey, which questioned more than 1000 workers across a broad range of industries and ages, showed there is a clear gap in what workers expect to receive and what is actually happening in a cautious market.
Despite the majority of Kiwis expecting a pay rise, Seek said the survey showed just 50% got one last year. And its survey also found 46% of workers had never asked for a pay rise, with only 32% feeling comfortable initiating salary conversations.
Stats NZ figures show that in the year ended December 2025, overall salary and wage rates (including overtime) in New Zealand increased 2%.
The official figures showed average weekly earnings (including overtime) for full-time equivalent employees went up to $1712 from $1651, and average ordinary time hourly earnings increased to $43.99 from $42.57.
Not so happy
The Seek survey found well under half of Kiwis, 41%, where happy with their current salary, which the company said was likely a symptom of cost-of-living pressures.
The vast majority of pay rises, 90%, came through workers sticking with their current company. Of those who received a pay increase at their current company, company-wide adjustments were the primary driver at 52%, with performance-based increases significantly lower at 24%.
New Zealand workers in the industrial (57%), professional services (53%) and technology (52%) industries were most likely to receive pay rises in the past 12 months.
Seek said younger workers were also the most likely to secure increases in pay through promotions in comparison to their older counterparts. Millennials (54%), and Gen Z (48%) were generations who had unlocked the biggest pay boosts.
Millennials were also the most likely generation to request a pay rise, with 60% of them doing so.
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