Jobs with salaries over $100,000 are on the rise in the Bay as companies compete to attract skilled staff as a result of the building boom, local recruitment agencies say.
Figures from Trade Me show, in 2014, jobs with an advertised salary of $100,000 plus in Tauranga accounted for 5.6 per cent of total listings, up from 3.7 per cent in 2013.
Media spokesperson Jeff Hunkin said the top three sectors were IT, construction, architecture and engineering.
While figures from Seek revealed its listings for jobs $100,000 and over was up 11.5 per cent in 2014, compared to the year before. Growth for January 2015 was also up 12.2 per cent compared to January 2015.
1st Call Recruitment general manager Angela Singleton said its listings for six-figure salary jobs in 2014 were up at least 50 per cent on the previous year and it was advertising one role a week.
"We are being asked to assist with six figure jobs on a weekly basis because companies are expanding."
The economy was booming and all the subsidiaries associated to the building and engineering sectors were on an "absolute high", she said.
Employers were also paying "market rates" to attract qualified staff and that corresponded with increased confidence.
"These are skilled people, all of a sudden the accounting firms need another accountant and with the new health and safety laws coming into effect next month. There is a huge drive on safety and environment managers that are paid well over the $100,000 to $150,000 mark."
Harper Smith Recruitment director Paddy Shaw said 40 per cent of its roles were in the $100,000 plus range and "salaries are definitely going north".
More than 50 per cent of its positions were in the Bay of Plenty and covered commercial/residential construction and civil contracting.
Salaries in the region had started to catch up, he said.
"If they want to get the best people they have to up their game so to speak ... we are definitely getting a lot more six-figure roles."
It advertised a project, a commercial contractor role, on Tuesday and had received eight inquiries within a day, he said.
"We have had a lot of interest in that particular role. The industry has been quiet for the last few years but it's starting to pick up and we are getting interest from people wanting to return to Tauranga."
However, while local experience was looked fondly upon "it's nice to bring someone fresh into the region with good ideas," or "international candidates that bring new and bigger project experience."
The Right Staff owner Claudia Nelson said in 2014 it had recruited for five roles over $100,000 and had been working on positions based from $110,000 to $150,000 this year.
Jobs in that range included sales, operations, general and financial management, she said.
Yesterday, Trade Me had 42 roles listed in Tauranga that paid $100,000 or over, these included a financial analyst/accountant or several jobs that were calling for carpenters, commercial plumbers and drainlayers to work on overseas projects.
Seek had 31 jobs on its site, including positions for a senior commercial lawyer, new sales home consultant and survey business leader.
Data from Statistics New Zealand showed Kiwis were earning an average ordinary wage of $28.77 per hour in the December 2014 quarter - a 2.6 per cent increase.
While over the year to the December 2014 quarter, the Bay of Plenty was one of the largest contributors to employment growth, up by 15,600 people, just behind Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.