Base salaries of staff in the Public Service and wage growth by sector.
Annual salary in the Public Service
The collection of Public Service workforce data provides information on the base salaries of staff in the Public Service as at 30 June each year. In 2025, the average (mean) annual salary was $103,300, an increase of 1.6% from the previous year. This annual increase is lower than in recent years, particularly compared to the last two years when salary growth was driven by the 2022 Public Sector Pay Adjustment. This year is also the equal lowest annual increase, along with 2010, since records began in 2000.
Private sector average earnings increased by 4.6% over the same period — calculated using average ordinary time hourly earnings for the private sector from Stats NZ’s Quarterly Employment Survey – to an equivalent average salary of approximately $85,700 per annum. We note that some of the difference in average salary between the Public Service and private sector is attributable to differing skills, and occupational mix between the sectors. For example, 2025 Public Service Census results show that Public Service employees are more qualified on average than the overall New Zealand workforce.
The annual Public Service Workforce Data base salary movement is affected by:
- changes in the occupational composition of the workforce
- movement in staff pay
- service increments
- merit promotions
- performance-related increases
- salary differences between new, departing, and remaining staff
Allowances, performance bonuses, overtime and lump sum payments are examples of payments to staff which do not affect average base salary.
The average wage in the Public Service has grown by an average of 3.6% per annum since records began in 2000. The trend since 2000 is shown on the chart in first tab of the visualisation below.
Median salaries measure the mid-point of the salary distribution (half of the employees are below and half are above this salary level). The median is less affected than (mean) average salaries by a small number of employees with very high salaries. The median salary for Public Service employees was $90,200, an annual increase of 1.5%. Wage growth in the last year has generally continued to proportionally benefit those towards the lower end and middle of the salary distribution, with the highest salary growth near the bottom (3.5% at the 10th percentile and 3.2% at the 25th percentile).
The second tab in the visualisation above shows average salary by occupation group. In the year to June 2025, the increase in average salaries for Managers was 1.6% (5.0% in 2024) compared with 1.9% for staff in non-managerial occupations (4.8% in 2024). In terms of the key other occupational groups, average salaries increased the most for Policy Analysts (3.5%), Inspectors and Regulatory Officers (3.0%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (2.9%) and Information Professionals (2.8%).
The third tab in the visualisation above shows average salary by department. Departments that have a higher proportion of staff in operational and service delivery jobs tend to have a lower average salary, for example:
- Department of Corrections
- Ministry of Social Development
- New Zealand Customs Service
In contrast, organisations with a larger proportion of staff in leadership, specialist professional and policy roles tend to have a higher average salary, for example:
- Social Investment Agency
- Public Service Commission
- Ministry for Regulation
Wage growth by sector
Each quarter the Public Service Commission (the Commission) reports on wage movements as measured by the Labour Cost Index (LCI). The LCI is released quarterly by Stats NZ. It measures changes in salary and wage rates in the labour market for the same quality and quantity of labour. The Index is “adjusted”, moving with changes in the price of labour, holding the quality and quantity of labour static.
This salary movement is different from the change in annual Public Service salaries, which was discussed in the previous section. The LCI is a more refined measure of real wage movement, as it controls for the quality and quantity of labour. As an example, the salary increase of a staff member promoted into a new, more highly paid role, is reflected in the Public Service average salary, but is not reflected in the LCI.
The Commission uses the LCI to monitor and oversee wage movements, including bargaining and pay equity outcomes, in the public sector and select public sector sub-sectors, including the Public Service.
The chart in the visualisation below shows annual wage growth of 2.8% for the public sector in the year to June 2025 - down from last year’s record high for this sector. Public Service wage growth was 1.2% for the year to June 2025. Annual wage growth in the private sector was 2.3%.
More in-depth analysis on the latest quarterly LCI results are available on the Commission’s Employment Relations webpage.
The charts on the second and thirds tab of the visualisation below show the LCI trend in salary and wage movements of selected sectors since March 2018 and June 2001 respectively, on a cumulative basis.