Positive Results From Latest TMP Salary Survey

Higher Pay, More Employment - Positive Results From Latest TMP Salary Survey

New Zealand’s business climate is showing strengthening employer confidence according to the TMP Salary survey results released today (July 31), with 71% of respondents saying they are expecting growth over the next 12 months.

This and other findings are the result of the TMP Salary survey (formerly Lampen Salary survey), which is conducted on an annual basis. This survey (its 16th) looks at salary and employment trends for the year ended June 2001 and covers 550 employers over 21 industry groups nationwide.

General Manager Lampenalectus Recruitment TMP Worldwide, Jane Kennelly, says that there’s good news for wage earners too, with salaries continuing to rise.

“The past twelve months have seen an average shift in salaries of +4.5% nationally across all job categories, reflecting a greater movement of salaries compared to the previous two years,” Jane Kennelly says.

“80% of employers experienced an increase in salary costs over the past 12 months and an overwhelming 93% are preparing for further rises over the next year.”

Kennelly says that the reasons for the increases were ‘to keep salaries competitive’ (61%) and ‘to keep up with the cost of living’ (33%).

Roles that saw the greatest increase nationally were Executive Secretary/PA (+5.6%), Accounts Clerk (+2.78%), Marketing Manager (+8.06%), Marketing Assistant (+4.73%), Business Development Manager (+13.54%) and Sales Manager (+7.44%). Skill shortages and the demand for intermediate and senior people continue to drive IT salaries higher in a range of roles.

In addition to increased salaries, the range of benefits provided by employers have continued to broaden during 2001.

“We are seeing the introduction of benefits that encourage staff to adopt a balanced approach to their working life,” Jane Kennelly says. “Benefits are designed around appealing to the ‘human’ element and employer of choice positioning rather than purely monetary based.”

“According to this year’s respondents, the most popular benefits include flexible working conditions, travel benefits, training and staff welfare (such as gym and food allowances). All bonuses are performance based,” she says.

Employment trends from this year’s survey show an increase in permanent hiring over the past 12 months (+9% on last year), with 88% of respondents expecting to maintain or increase their permanent hiring over the year. Temporary hiring showed a similar increase, and 73% of respondents said they will increase and/or remain stable in this area over the next 12 months.

The top five roles contributing to hiring include Customer Service, IT, Sales, Accounts & Accounting and Marketing.

There has also been an increase in international recruitment to 36%, up 9% on last year.

“Similarly to last year, the primary drivers of change continue to be the result of technological advancements and resultant impact on customer interface,” Jane Kennelly says.

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