And which regions are home to the top-paying jobs? We’ve crunched the numbers on the highest-paying salaries across industries and regions to give you the answers.
Select a region from the drop-down menu below to find out the highest-paying jobs in your location.
| RANK | INDUSTRY | ROLE TYPE | ANNUAL SALARY | SALARY GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information & Communication Technology | Architects | $138,916 | 4% |
| 2 | Information & Communication Technology | Management | $138,642 | 3% |
| 3 | Accounting | Strategy & Planning | $136,555 | -2% |
| 4 | Mining, Resources & Energy | Management | $133,333 | 0% |
| 5 | Accounting | Financial Managers & Controllers | $130,611 | 1% |
| 6 | Real Estate & Property | Retail & Property Development | $128,221 | 4% |
| 7 | Engineering | Management | $127,155 | 3% |
| 8 | Legal | Generalists - In-house | $125,227 | 4% |
| 9 | Legal | Construction Law | $124,811 | 12% |
| 10 | Banking & Financial Services | Management | $124,201 | 1% |
| 11 | Construction | Management | $123,022 | 3% |
| 12 | Information & Communication Technology | Consultants | $122,775 | 5% |
| 13 | Consulting & Strategy | Management & Change Consulting | $122,031 | 4% |
| 14 | Human Resources & Recruitment | Management - Internal | $120,521 | 3% |
| 15 | Information & Communication Technology | Product Management & Development | $120,426 | 5% |
| 16 | Banking & Financial Services | Banking - Corporate & Institutional | $120,400 | 2% |
| 17 | Construction | Contracts Management | $120,195 | 9% |
| 18 | Construction | Project Management | $119,553 | -1% |
| 19 | Legal | Banking & Finance Law | $118,260 | -1% |
| 20 | Consulting & Strategy | Corporate Development | $118,184 | 5% |
Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.
Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.
| RANK | INDUSTRY | ROLE TYPE | ANNUAL SALARY | SALARY GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information & Communication Technology | Architects | $134,513 | 11% |
| 2 | Engineering | Management | $130,961 | 5% |
| 3 | Information & Communication Technology | Management | $129,083 | 4% |
| 4 | Human Resources & Recruitment | Management - Internal | $124,270 | 0% |
| 5 | Banking & Financial Services | Management | $121,428 | 11% |
| 6 | Accounting | Financial Managers & Controllers | $120,919 | 2% |
| 7 | Construction | Management | $118,272 | -1% |
| 8 | Consulting & Strategy | Management & Change Consulting | $117,272 | 8% |
| 9 | Legal | Generalists - In-house | $114,333 | 11% |
| 10 | Legal | Environment & Planning Law | $112,500 | 1% |
| 11 | Engineering | Project Management | $112,187 | 0% |
| 12 | Consulting & Strategy | Strategy & Planning | $110,065 | 2% |
| 13 | Sales | Management | $108,928 | 5% |
| 14 | Accounting | Management | $108,636 | -3% |
| 15 | Banking & Financial Services | Financial Planning | $107,812 | 4% |
| 16 | Construction | Project Management | $106,846 | -6% |
| 17 | Information & Communication Technology | Programme & Project Management | $106,189 | -1% |
| 18 | Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics | Management | $105,916 | 6% |
| 19 | Information & Communication Technology | Security | $103,947 | 2% |
| 20 | Engineering | Electrical/Electronic Engineering | $103,473 | 10% |
Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.
Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.
| RANK | INDUSTRY | ROLE TYPE | ANNUAL SALARY | SALARY GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information & Communication Technology | Architects | $132,500 | 9% |
| 2 | Information & Communication Technology | Management | $125,054 | -3% |
| 3 | Mining, Resources & Energy | Management | $124,062 | 10% |
| 4 | Engineering | Management | $122,906 | 6% |
| 5 | Information & Communication Technology | Consultants | $122,812 | 12% |
| 6 | Construction | Contracts Management | $119,204 | 0% |
| 7 | Information & Communication Technology | Product Management & Development | $115,000 | 11% |
| 8 | Accounting | Financial Managers & Controllers | $114,702 | 0% |
| 9 | Human Resources & Recruitment | Management - Internal | $111,304 | 3% |
| 10 | Engineering | Project Management | $110,833 | 1% |
| 11 | Marketing & Communications | Management | $110,460 | 7% |
| 12 | Banking & Financial Services | Account & Relationship Management | $109,354 | 7% |
| 13 | Information & Communication Technology | Programme & Project Management | $108,823 | 1% |
| 14 | Construction | Project Management | $108,425 | 2% |
| 15 | Engineering | Project Engineering | $107,073 | 2% |
| 16 | Construction | Management | $105,541 | -2% |
| 17 | Banking & Financial Services | Financial Planning | $104,500 | 6% |
| 18 | Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics | Management | $102,558 | 5% |
| 19 | Engineering | Water & Waste Engineering | $102,366 | 3% |
| 20 | Accounting | Management | $101,333 | -5% |
Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.
Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.
| RANK | INDUSTRY | ROLE TYPE | ANNUAL SALARY | SALARY GROWTH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Information & Communication Technology | Architects | $143,074 | 2% |
| 2 | Information & Communication Technology | Management | $138,188 | 4% |
| 3 | Engineering | Management | $134,427 | -1% |
| 4 | Human Resources & Recruitment | Management - Internal | $131,266 | 1% |
| 5 | Mining, Resources & Energy | Management | $130,892 | -3% |
| 6 | Accounting | Strategy & Planning | $130,763 | 8% |
| 7 | Accounting | Financial Managers & Controllers | $126,036 | -1% |
| 8 | Consulting & Strategy | Management & Change Consulting | $125,265 | 2% |
| 9 | Marketing & Communications | Management | $123,735 | 4% |
| 10 | Real Estate & Property | Retail & Property Development | $122,250 | -1% |
| 11 | Legal | Environment & Planning Law | $121,458 | 6% |
| 12 | Information & Communication Technology | Team Leaders | $121,406 | 9% |
| 13 | Information & Communication Technology | Product Management & Development | $121,328 | 3% |
| 14 | Information & Communication Technology | Programme & Project Management | $120,244 | 6% |
| 15 | Banking & Financial Services | Management | $120,000 | -10% |
| 16 | Accounting | Management | $118,722 | -3% |
| 17 | Accounting | Compliance & Risk | $118,103 | -3% |
| 18 | Construction | Management | $117,357 | -1% |
| 19 | Information & Communication Technology | Consultants | $116,556 | -1% |
| 20 | Construction | Project Management | $115,900 | -2% |
Source: SEEK Employment Report, based on average annual packaged salaries of full-time roles listed on SEEK May 2020 – April 2021, compared to May 2019 – April 2020.
Only the regions of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton are depicted due to the limited size of the other locations.
Senior role types in high demand
Many of the highest-paying jobs are for senior role types, such as management, planning or leadership. Oli Sanford-Scutt, Division Manager – Accounting and Finance at Consult, says this may be due to greater demand for people to lead business transformation strategies following the pandemic.
“Businesses are looking to do things differently since COVID and this has created demand for skill sets that they may not have had before,” he says. “With borders being closed, there is a smaller pool of candidates and more job opportunities, and this has driven up salaries.”
Tech candidates are demanding more
Six of the top 20 highest-paying role types nationally are from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry.
ICT Architects are number one on the national list (with an average salary of $139,758). This is followed by Management ($135,390) and Product Management & Development ($120,059).
Richard Vaughan, Co-Founder and Senior Recruitment Consultant at Younity New Zealand, says the ICT market has been busier than ever in recent months.
“Projects that were put on hold last year have kicked off and technology has become so important in response to COVID,” he says.
“Demand for candidates is outstripping supply,” adds Vaughan. “Candidates know they can demand more in terms of salary. To attract the best, employers also need to have a great story to tell about what they do, how they do it, how they treat their people and the kinds of leadership they showed during the COVID crisis.”
Accounting increases the bottom line
The Accounting industry has two of the top 20 highest-paying role types in New Zealand, including Strategy & Planning ($130,983) with candidate supply for this role type in line with the 5-year average.
To attract and retain the best in accounting, Sanford-Scutt says employers need to tick more boxes than just a competitive salary.
“People know that if they make a move, they will be paid more money, so now they can afford to be choosier about what they want from an employer,” he says. “You need to be very clear about your value proposition. This includes explaining what your flexibility policy looks like, how you interact with a workforce remotely, the impact a person can have in your business and the career journey they can go on.”
Signs of growth in engineering
Management roles in the engineering industry are the fourth-highest paying in the country ($125,324).
Chris Story, Principal Consultant at Construction & Technical Recruitment, there is strong demand for more engineers on infrastructure projects.
“There’s a lot of government and private sector development occurring at the moment, and projects that were on hold due to COVID have now come back online,” he says. “There’s a shortage of experienced candidates, especially because of the border closures and travel restrictions.
Story suggests benchmarking your salaries every six months rather than once a year. “The market has changed considerably from late last year to where we are now,” he says. “Employers should be looking at industry data and talking to recruiters to understand the current market.
“For younger people, salary is probably the top priority because they may want to buy a house. For more senior people, money is still important, but they also highly value interesting and challenging projects, job security and an employer who cares about their wellbeing.”
It’s wise to keep informed of fast-moving market trends, to stay competitive. But candidates want more than money and a well-rounded value proposition will ultimately help to attract the best talent.
