Wages and labour costs · New Zealand
New Zealand Labour Costs Index QoQ
The New Zealand Labour Costs Index QoQ measures how fast pay, or the total cost of employing people, is rising in New Zealand.
- Importancia
- Medium
- Publicado
- Quarterly
- Divisa
- NZD · New Zealand dollar
- Banco central
- The Reserve Bank of New Zealand
Últimas cifras
El último dato, de Q3, se publicó el 2026-11-03 y fue 0.4%. Está por debajo del consenso de 0.5%. Es menos que 0.7% la vez anterior.
A lower figure than expected gives the Reserve Bank of New Zealand room to cut or hold rates lower: the New Zealand dollar tends to soften and bond yields to fall.
En las últimas 8 publicaciones osciló entre 0.4% y 0.7%, con una media de 0.5%.
| Publicado | Para | Real | Consenso | Anterior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 2026 | Q3 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
| 4 Aug 2026 | Q2 | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| 5 May 2026 | Q1 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| 3 Feb 2026 | Q4 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| 4 Nov 2025 | Q3 | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% |
| 5 Aug 2025 | Q2 | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| 6 May 2025 | Q1 | 0.4% | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| 4 Feb 2025 | Q4 | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
Por qué importa
Wages are the largest cost for service businesses, so wage growth well above productivity growth turns into lasting inflation. Central banks watch it to judge whether inflation will return to target; strong wage growth tends to keep the Reserve Bank of New Zealand hawkish.
Cómo se calcula
Pay data come from employer surveys, tax records or collective agreements; the release usually shows the change from a year earlier. Labour cost indexes include employers' social contributions and benefits.
Wage growth (yoy) = average pay ÷ average pay a year ago − 1
Real wage growth ≈ wage growth − inflationQué significan los cambios
- Wage growth of about 3–3.5% is roughly consistent with 2% inflation when productivity grows about 1%.
- Compositional effects (low-paid workers losing jobs) can lift the average misleadingly.
Mayor de lo esperado: A higher figure than expected makes the Reserve Bank of New Zealand more likely to keep rates high or raise them: it tends to support the New Zealand dollar and push bond yields up, and is often a weight on stocks.
Menor de lo esperado: A lower figure than expected gives the Reserve Bank of New Zealand room to cut or hold rates lower: the New Zealand dollar tends to soften and bond yields to fall.
Una breve historia
The link between wages and inflation was described by A. W. Phillips in 1958 (the Phillips curve); it has weakened and strengthened over the decades but remains central to central-bank thinking.
New Zealand was the first country to adopt formal inflation targeting, in 1990.
Preguntas
What is the New Zealand Labour Costs Index QoQ?
The New Zealand Labour Costs Index QoQ measures how fast pay, or the total cost of employing people, is rising in New Zealand.
What was the latest New Zealand Labour Costs Index QoQ?
0.4% for Q3, published on 3 November 2026 (consensus 0.5%, previous 0.7%).
Solo contenido educativo, no asesoramiento de inversión. Las cifras son los resultados publicados según los registra nuestro calendario; las reacciones del mercado descritas son típicas, no garantizadas.