The data we collect provides information on the base salaries of staff in the Public Service and shows us wage growth by sector.
Annual salary in the Public Service
The collection of Public Service workforce data provides information on the base salaries of staff in the Public Service as at 30 June each year. In 2024, the average (mean) annual salary was $101,700 an increase of 4.6% from the previous year. This is the first time the Public Service average salary has exceeded $100,000.
Private sector average earnings increased at a lower rate (4.0%) over the same period — calculated using average ordinary time hourly earnings for the private sector from Stats NZ’s Quarterly Employment Survey – to an equivalent average salary of approximately $81,900 per annum. We note that some of the difference in average salary between the Public Service and private sector is attributable to differing skills, and occupational mix between the sectors. For example, 2018 Stats NZ Census results show that Public Service employees are more qualified on average than those in the private sector.
The annual Public Service Workforce Data salary movement is affected by:
- changes in the occupational composition of the workforce
- movement in staff pay
- service increments
- merit promotions
- performance-related increases
- salary differences between new, departing, and remaining staff
Allowances, performance bonuses, overtime and lump sum payments are examples of payments to staff which do not affect average salary.
Drivers of wage increases this year include:
- the Year 2 Pay Adjustment increases that arose from the 2022 Public Sector Pay Adjustment of the Pay Adjustment
- agreed progression increases, typically applied annually from 1 July.
The average wage in the Public Service has grown by an average of 3.7% per annum since records began in 2000. The trend since 2000 is shown on the chart in first tab of the visualisation below.
Median salaries measure the mid-point of the salary distribution (half of the employees are below and half are above this salary level). The median is less affected than (mean) average salaries by a small number of employees with very high salaries. The median salary for Public Service employees was $88,900, an annual increase of 4.8%. Wage growth in the last year has generally continued to proportionally benefit those towards the lower end and middle of the salary distribution, with the highest salary growth near the bottom (at the 10th percentile) at 5.3%.
The second tab in the visualisation above shows average salary by occupation group. In the year to June 2024, the increase in average salaries for Managers was 5.0% (5.3% in 2023) compared with 4.8% for staff in non-managerial occupations (7.3% in 2023). In terms of the other occupational groups, average salaries increased the most for Social, Health and Education Workers (6.6%) and Information Professionals (6.5%), and the least for Inspectors and Regulators (4.0%) and Legal, HR, and Finance Professionals (4.1%).
The third tab in the visualisation above shows average salary by department. Departments that have a higher proportion of staff in operational and service delivery jobs tend to have a lower average salary, for example:
- Department of Corrections
- New Zealand Customs Service
- Ministry of Social Development
In contrast, organisations with a larger proportion of staff in leadership, specialist professional and policy roles tend to have a higher average salary, for example:
- Public Service Commission
- Social Investment Agency
- Ministry of Defence
Wage growth by sector
Each quarter Te Kawa Mataaho Public Service Commission (the Commission) reports on wage movements as measured by the Labour Cost Index (LCI). The LCI is released quarterly by Stats NZ. It measures changes in salary and wage rates in the labour market for the same quality and quantity of labour. The Index is “adjusted”, moving with changes in the price of labour, holding the quality and quantity of labour static.
This salary movement is different from the change in annual Public Service salaries, which was discussed in the previous section. The LCI is a more refined measure of real wage movement, as it controls for the quality and quantity of labour. As an example, the salary increase of a staff member promoted into a new, more highly paid role, is reflected in the Public Service average salary, but is not reflected in the LCI.
The Commission uses the LCI to monitor and oversee wage movements, including bargaining and pay equity outcomes, in the public sector and select public sector sub-sectors, including the Public Service.
The chart in the visualisation below shows annual wage growth of 6.9% for the public sector in the year to June 2024 - a record high for this sector. The size and timing collective bargaining and pay equity outcomes have driven these results. Wage growth occurred across most of the public sector, but a key driver was health sector wage growth (up 10.0% annually). Public Service wage growth was 5.4% for the year to June 2024. Annual wage growth in the private sector was 3.6.
More in-depth analysis on the latest quarterly LCI results are available on the Commission’s Employment Relations webpage.
The charts on the second and thirds tab of the visualisation below show the LCI trend in salary and wage movements of selected sectors since March 2018 and June 2001 respectively, on a cumulative basis.