People receiving earnings from wages and salaries in New Zealand
By industry (main job only), as at June 2026, thousands of people
| Industry | Thousands of people |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 94 |
| Mining | 7.6 |
| Manufacturing | 233.7 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 33.7 |
| Construction | 210.1 |
| Wholesale trade | 83.2 |
| All retail trade, accommodation and food services | 352 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 105.4 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 32.8 |
| Financial and insurance services | 97.7 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 46.3 |
| Prof, scientific, technical, admin and support services | 263.8 |
| Public administration and safety | 160.8 |
| Education and training | 211 |
| Health care and social assistance | 253.4 |
| Arts, recreation and other services | 150.5 |
| Not elsewhere included | 22.9 |
Definitions
Average hourly earnings: The total hourly earnings from main wage and salary job, divided by the number of wage and salary earners.
Average weekly earnings: The total weekly earnings from main wage and salary job, divided by the number of wage and salary earners.
Median hourly earnings: The middle point of the distribution of hourly earnings. For example if 99 people receive wage and salary earnings, the median hourly earnings are the hourly earnings of the 50th person - when people are ranked by hourly earnings.
Median weekly earnings: The middle point of the distribution of weekly earnings from main wage and salary job. For example if 99 people receive wage and salary earnings, the median weekly earnings are the weekly earnings of the 50th person - when people are ranked by weekly earnings.
Number of people: The number of people receiving earnings from a wage and salary job.
Data calculation/treatment
Ethnic groups have been coded by total response. Total response means that each person can choose multiple ethnic groups they identify with. The person then counts once, in each ethnic group chosen. For example, if a person identifies with both the Asian and Māori ethnic groups this will be counted once in the Asian ethnic group responses and once in the Māori ethnic group responses. Total response is used for ethnicity to ensure that our statistics accurately reflect the multi-ethnic nature of New Zealand society.
For more information
Inclusions
This information only covers income from wages and salaries earned for someone's MAIN job.
Changes to data collection/processing
This information used to be collected through the NZ Income Survey, but it is now collected as part of the Household Labour Force Survey each year during the June quarter.
In 2016 there were changes to the survey:
- Changes to the questionnaire allow more accurate identification of education and caregiving status, and self-employment. This change cannot be backdated. This causes an increase in self-employment figures and a change in NEETs.
- Looking at job advertisements on the internet is now classified as not actively seeking work. This change has been backdated from 2007.
- Missing historical information on the usual hours worked has been imputed, and the new survey better captures this information. This change has been backdated from 2005.
Data provided by
Dataset name
Household Labour Force Survey: Earnings from main wage and salary job by industry (ANZSIC 2006), sex, age group, and ethnic group June 2026
Webpage:
How to find the data
Data is displayed at the URL provided. Click on download and click on 'Unfiltered data in tabular text (CSV)'.
Import & extraction details
File as imported: Household Labour Force Survey: Earnings from main wage and salary job by industry (ANZSIC 2006), sex, age group, and ethnic group June 2026
From the dataset Household Labour Force Survey: Earnings from main wage and salary job by industry (ANZSIC 2006), sex, age group, and ethnic group June 2026, this data was extracted:
- Rows: 2-168,891
- Column: 17
- Provided: 168,890 data points
This data forms the table Employment - Earnings from main wage and salary job by industry, sex, age group, and ethnic group 2009–2026.
Dataset originally released on:
August 05, 2026
About this dataset
The income information is collected as part of the Household Labour Force Survey each year during the June quarter.
This dataset in particular refers to the hourly and weekly income of individuals who are employed and are receiving income from wages and salaries.
Method of collection/Data provider
The period of surveying/interviewing for the June quarter is the 13 weeks between April and June (inclusive). Income information obtained relates to the respondent's most-recent pay period, except for questions on annual income, and self-employment income which cover the 12 months before the interview.