Māori Income²⁴

Summary: Median weekly incomes from all sources of income for employed Māori increased by $111 or 19.8% for between June 2003 and June 2007. However, wage growth for Māori has trailed the economy-wide average reflecting the continuing relatively high share of Māori in low-skilled, lesser paid occupations.

Background

37. Wage growth for Māori was weak in the year to June 2007, increasing by 1.6% which was well below the economy-wide growth in wages (6.8%). However, it should be noted that year on year changes in average hourly earnings tend to be volatile when broken down by ethnicity. In addition, the high proportion of new entrants to the labour market in the past year (with Māori employment growing by 8.7%) may also have been a factor in limiting wage growth in the short-term.²⁵
38. Looking over a longer five–year period, Māori average hourly earnings have still lagged behind the economy-wide average but by a much smaller margin. Māori wages rose by an average of 4.2% per annum between June 2002 and June 2007, from $14.33 to $17.58. Over the same period, economy-wide average hourly earnings grew by 5.1% on average per annum from $16.71 to $21.41. Lower wage growth among Māori partly reflects the continuing relatively high share of Māori in low-skilled, lesser paid occupations.²⁶
39. Median weekly incomes from all sources of income for employed Māori increased by $111 or 19.8% for between June 2003 and June 2007. The following occupational categories had the highest increases in median weekly incomes:
    • service/sales, by $114 (31.6%);
    • professionals, by $178 (24.4%);
    • elementary occupations, by $108 (23.9%);
    • agriculture/fisheries, by $115 (23.7%); and
    • technicians and associate professionals $122 (21.2%).²⁷

²⁴ Māori in the Labour Market, Department of Labour, September 2007
²⁵ Ibid.
²⁶ Ibid.
²⁷ Ibid.