By BRIAN FALLOW
WELLINGTON - One measure of wage inflation, private sector ordinary time earnings, jumped 1.3 per cent in the September quarter.
The increase, well above market forecasts of 0.5 per cent, pushed the annual rise to 3.1 per cent from 2.1 per cent for the year to June.
But Statistics New
Zealand warned that the quarterly increase mainly reflected compositional changes in its survey, rather than increases in wages.
The quarterly employment survey calculates average hourly earnings by dividing the total earnings of employees surveyed by the number of hours worked.
"Though total hours paid decreased overall, relatively more hours were paid in industries that have higher average earnings [such as computer services]," said Statistics NZ.
Meanwhile, building figures for the September quarter show residential work up 11.5 per cent, adjusted for inflation and seasonal factors, with non-residential construction up 3.1 per cent.
WestpacTrust chief economist Bevan Graham sees the rebound as catch-up activity from low levels last year.