Wages stay with prices

Press, 29 July 1976, Page 6

Wages stay with prices

Wage rates in New Zealand increased by 117.3 per cent in the year ended June 30, according 'to figures released yesterday by the Government Statistician (Mr E. |A. Harris).

Details of the nominal weekly wage rates index showed that the increase iover the same period from 11974 to 1975 was 17.2_ per cent and in 1973 to 1974 it was 9.7 per cent. The consumers' pi ice index increased by slightly more than the wage index for the same June to June period.

■ The increase was 17 7 p • Icent and for the same pen... Jin the previous year it wa 14 9 per cent. ■ i The increases are calcu -dated from indices based ■ [wage rates and prices dur |mg the December. 1974 ’ quarter. A comparison betweer I changes in wage rales .uk . prices during tht , years shew th.it wages ha\t ahead of prices. Using the June. 1971. tig i tires as a base of 1000 tht present wage index is 1851 .and the present pine ind.o j is 1719. This shows ih.it ovet .this five-year period wages ;have risen more than puces 1 The price index over this period shows a steady in lerease with an average rate <d [increase of 14.4 pet cent fot each year. Wage rates, on the other hand, show erratic movements. From the base at June 1971, they increased at f faster rate than prices before levelling off for the nin< months to September, 1972. The December. 1972, quar ter showed a big rise fo: wages above puces but afte> this jump the rate of in crease remained about the same as prices for the next 18 months In the September. 1974. [quarter wages rose sharply, there was a 9 pei cent general wage order in July and I this had been preceded by increases of 8.5 and 2.7 per

|ient from August, 1973. I Since the September, 1974 [quarter wage rales have not increased at the same rale as prices although they have [stayed ahead of prices using the June 1971. figures as a base. In the last six months the wage and price indices hav< come closer together and ai at present, increasing at abou the same rate.