We'll begin our survey of wage rates in New Zealand by looking at hourly wages excluding overtime. Salaries data from Statistics NZ show that in the third quarter of 2008 people were earning the wage levels shown below.

New Zealand Average Hourly Earnings
September 2008

Earnings
Classification
Average
Hourly
Earnings
Public sector$30.77
Private sector$22.64
Males $25.76
Females$22.61
All NZ Employees$24.33

  • The average NZ male employee works 37.9 hours per week with an additional 1.2 hours paid overtime to earn $1,010 per week.
  • The average NZ female employee works 35.6 hours per week with an additional 0.5 hours paid overtime to earn $816 per week.
Looking at wages by sector, the clear top dogs are people working in the finance / insurance and the electricity / gas / water sectors. People working in these industries earn twice as much on average as people working in the retail and accommodation / cafes /restaurants sectors.

For comparison, we've also presented the wages paid during the first half of 2002. The sectors enjoying the biggest pay increases since then have been health / community services, up 34 percent and forestry / mining, up 33 percent.

New Zealand Average Hourly Earnings
(not including overtime)
September 2008

Employment
Sector
Average
Hourly
Earnings
2008
Average
Hourly
Earnings
2002
Accommodation / cafes / restaurants$15.53$12.61
Retail$16.80$13.49
Manufacturing$22.36$18.25
Construction $22.48$17.17
Personal Services$22.85$18.34
Transport / storage / communication$24.01$18.89
Cultural and recreation services$24.81$21.82
Wholesale trade$24.98$20.46
Health and community services$25.85$19.26
Forestry and mining$26.62$19.96
Property and business services$27.96$24.77
Education$29.66$22.66
Government admin. and defence$31.53$24.77
Finance and insurance$32.79$24.81
Electricity, gas and water$34.14$27.45
Now to look at a selection of typical annual salary ranges in New Zealand.

Bear in mind that these are salary-ranges. The bottom of the range would approximate the salary of an inexperienced employee working for a lower paying employer. Top of the range approximates the salary of an experienced employee working with a good employer.

It's likely you'll only be offered work in New Zealand if you're already experienced, so you certainly shouldn't be expecting a salary at the bottom of any of these ranges.

Typical Annual Salaries in New Zealand

ProfessionAverage Annual Earnings
Accounting Technician    $45,000 - $80,000
Auditor    $55,000 - $100,000+
Bank Manager     $55,000 - $100,000+
Financial Planners    $35,000 - $100,000+
Loss Adjustors    $35,000 - $100,000+
Management Accountant    $40,000 - $100,000+
Teacher    $40,000 - $70,000
Educational Psychologist    $40,000 - $100,000+
Engineer (Chem./Elect.)    $40,000 - $100,000+
Environmental Engineer    $40,000 - $100,000
Road Engineer    $40,000 - $90,000
Elect. Engineer Technician    $40,000 - $90,000
Environmental Scientist    $40,000 - $85,000
Forestry Scientist    $40,000 - $55,000
Industrial Chemist    $45,000 - $100,000+
Computing Services Manager    $50,000 - $150,000+
Systems Analyst    $50,000 - $100,000+
Computer Helpdesk Operator    $30,000 - $60,000
Warehouse Manager    $30,000 - $55,000
Solicitor    $50,000 - $200,000+
Registered Hospital Nurse    $60,000 basic
    (5 years experience in 2009)
To discover whether your skills are in demand, The Immigration Service publishes regularly updated lists: Graduates in the education sector earn relatively attractive salaries by New Zealand standards. For example, experienced school-teachers with no management responsibilities earn $56,000 pa. University research fellows start at NZ$50,000 and progress to the top of the senior research fellow scale at NZ$73,000 pa.

Chartered accountants' remuneration packages average around $105 - $110,000 in Auckland and Wellington. Elsewhere, CA's might average around $80-85,000. Well qualified, experienced candidates for corporate management work might expect salaries up to $100,000+ p.a.