Website ads' 5pc payrise outstrips national average

Pay packets and volume of jobs show positive market, says big employment site. Photo / Kenny Rodger

The salaries of jobs advertised on one of the country's biggest employment websites went up by an average of 5 per cent last year, well above the rate of national pay growth.

According to figures from job-hunting website seek.co.nz, the average pay packet offered by employers rose by more than $3000 from January to November last year to $73,530 a year.

That growth was worth an average of $250 extra a month for workers, says Seek's general manager Janet Faulding.

"I'm sure that makes a significant difference in many households," she said.

The 5 per cent pay rise outpaced the national average, which the Labour and Immigration Research Centre says went up 2 per cent in the year to September.

The pay growth, combined with a 10 per cent rise in the volume of jobs advertised on Seek, showed New Zealand's employment market was on a positive trajectory, the website said.

While the average pay package offered through Seek grew in Auckland and Wellington, the West Coast offered the highest average salary of $100,307 a year, up 27.2 per cent over the year.

This was helped by a 17.7 per cent jump in pay offers in mining and energy from January to November.

The average annual salary offered through the website in Wellington was $78,952 and in Auckland it was $75,533 - the second and third highest in the country.

Employers were offering the least in Marlborough, which had an average annual salary of $52,214.

Mining jobs carried an average salary of $118,629 a year - the highest of any other industry.

Consulting and strategy were next at $89,121 and roles in information and communication technology were third with an average pay of $88,066.

Average pay offers in advertising, arts and media rose 15.7 per cent to $70,429 a year.

The average salary offered for jobs in farming and conservation took the biggest hit, down 18.9 per cent to $56,133 from January to November.

Trade Me also issues salary figures twice a year; a representative said 2011 data would be out next week.