KEY POINTS:
Quarry managers have won among New Zealand's richest pay rises in the past year, according to a new survey.
The transtasman research by recruitment firm Hays of 14 job sectors found that "top-end" salaries for underground/quarry managers in the New Zealand mining and resources sector rose by 16
per cent, to $185,000.
"The majority of employers reported increases in salaries of between 3 and 6 per cent," said Jason Walker, Hays' New Zealand regional director. "Unsurprisingly, the exception was certain skills in high demand, such as mining and engineering related roles, where salary increases were often substantially higher."
And the survey found a scarcity of skilled candidates had made employers more willing to cast their eyes abroad.
"Sixty-four per cent of our survey respondents will now consider sponsoring candidates from overseas, which is a significant increase from 44 per cent last year," said Mr Walker. "Eighty per cent report a need to adopt a more flexible approach to staffing."
In advertising and media, 30 per cent of employers increased salaries by more than 6 per cent; in professional services, 38 per cent lifted salaries by that much; in construction, property and engineering, 36 per cent did so; and in resources and mining, 32 per cent.
New Zealand "hot-spots" cited by Hays include increases of typical salaries to:
* $46,000 for senior payroll clerks in the accountancy sector in Wellington or Christchurch, an $8000 rise.
* $41,000 for senior customer services representatives at New Zealand contact centres, up $4000.
* $75,000 for Auckland information technology analyst programmers, up $10,000.
* $35,000 for Auckland bank processing officers, up $3000.
In construction, Auckland project managers were "big winners", top-end salaries rising by $10,000, to $130,000.
Purchasing officers pocketed an extra $10,000, their salaries hitting $60,000 in the survey. Executive assistants in Auckland were the main salary winners in the office support market, with typical salaries rising to $60,000, up $5000. Personal/team assistants in the city won the same rise, putting them on $55,000 typically.
Statistics New Zealand, in its March quarterly employment survey, found that over the preceding year, average weekly gross earnings including overtime increased by 5.1 per cent - from $826.08, to $868.21, or $45,146.92 a year.