Auckland and Wellington face off for best-paying city

Tuesday, 10 July 2018

Trade Me head of jobs Jeremy Wade says it's a job hunters market, but if current trends continue it won't be for long.

Auckland and Wellington are neck-and-neck in the fight to be the country's highest-paying city.

Trade Me analysed its 72,000 vacancies listed on the site over the past three months and find the difference in the average wages in Wellington and Auckland was less than $2.

Wellington city jobs had experienced significantly higher wage growth than Auckland jobs.

The average wage in Wellington city, at $71,558, was up 7 per cent compared to last year. Auckland's average wage was $71,560, only a 0.2 per cent increase compared to July last year.

* The Warehouse staff frustrated by uncertainty of job losses**

Head of Trade Me Jobs Jeremy Wade said, 'With lower living costs and employers putting more money on the table, the grass could be greener for employees in the capital.'

Wade said those in the regions immediately surrounding Auckland could be expected to echo Auckland city's slow wage growth in the next few months.

'However if the Government decisions around key infrastructure projects provide some market certainty, we should see it bounce back pretty quickly.'

Wade attributed a chunk of Wellington's job growth to the Labour-led Government's rise to power and with the public servant cap being lifted last month, he expected growth to continue into the next quarter.

He advised those looking to change jobs in the next year to make the move sooner rather than later.

The number of job applications was down 6.3 per cent nationwide over the last year.

'It's a job hunter's market with the average number of job applications down 6.3 per cent across the country.'

He said it helped those hunting that the economy was doing well and the country was near natural full employment.

'With employer confidence at a five-year low and job growth flattening, the job market is evening out and it looks like a good time to dust off that CV if you want to make a move.

'If things continue this way, we could see a dip in job ads in the next quarter and a swing back towards employers with more applicants than roles in some sectors.'

Regions in the South Island had the largest boost in the number of job listings, especially the West Coast, which was up 19.8 per cent, Nelson, up 18.8 per cent, and Southland, up 18.4 per cent.

IT jobs had the highest average wages, according to Trade Me data.

The national average wage is more than $10,000 less than the country's biggest cities at $60,970. The number of job listings were flat year-on-year. Wade said this was because of strong growth this time last year, 'which is why we're now seeing the dust settle'.

The surrounding Wellington region saw similar wage growth to the inner city, increasing 7.1 per cent over the last year to $66,461.

Uncertainty over Government infrastructure spending has put construction projects in limbo and dampened the demand for construction jobs.

Gisborne also saw high wage growth up 6.5 per cent on last year to $59,017.

Among the different sectors, Trade Me data found IT roles to be the most lucrative.

'If you're looking for a high-paying job, the IT sector still offers the highest average salary at $112,811 followed by roles in the property sector at $84,657 and the architecture sector at $83,218,' Wade said.

Of the site's advertised jobs over the last quarter, IT roles made up all of the top five highest-paid.

IT architects earned the most with an average salary of $156,402.

The construction sector was a much tighter market, with job listings down 13.8 per cent compared to last year.

Wade said uncertainty was to blame, with employers 'in limbo' and large construction ventures on hold like the Otaki-Levin roading project.

'Until the Government ramps up infrastructure spending, employers in the industry are going to have to think twice about their next hire.'