Wage inequality

The Wage Gap is growing

As ordinary wages and salaries have grown only slowly, top executives and management have been rewarding themselves with handsome pay packages.

In 1998 the average wage was $33,000 and average CEO fixed pay (that is, before bonuses) was $356,000 (11 times the average)

Ten years later the average wage was $49,000 (50% increase) but CEOs averaged $690,000 (almost 100% increase and 14 times the average).

In 2010 the bosses of New Zealand's biggest firms listed on the stock exchange received average pay rises of 14% (average annual pay of $1.6million) while their employees and other wage earners averaged just 1.7% (average earnings around $51,000). It is important to know that most people in this country earn less than the average wage (the average is skewed by the smaller number of very high income earners).

The job losses caused by the recession since 2008 can be expected to further increase income inequality as it is people on the lower and middle incomes who bear the brunt of the job losses. While highly skilled and high paid jobs are still in demand, the low skilled jobs are disappearing. 

Read more:

Job losses boost income inequality during recession

Business Herald report on executive pay survey read more 

Strategic Pay on executive salaries