“If you feel like you’re going backwards financially, it’s because you probably are, unfortunately,” Jenée Tibshraeny says on the latest episode of The Economy of Everything podcast.
Real wages are adjusted for inflation, which has been high in recent years and eating into Kiwis’ spending power.
“Our Reserve Bank and government responses to the pandemic were quite strong because of the approach used … also, we’ve got a small economy, we’re isolated.
“We don’t adjust to these shocks as easily as people do in the US, for example. So, the inflation spike was really big, and we just haven’t caught up,” Tibshraeny says.
The minimum wage has risen faster than median wages as the Labour-led Government increased it substantially during the pandemic years.
But co-host Tamsyn Parker says the current Government hasn’t pushed up the minimum wage as much.
It rose to $23.95 an hour on April 1, a rise of 45c an hour.
Parker adds: “$5 an hour is what I got paid in my first part-time job so it doesn’t sound all bad, but I’m sure a lot of people on the minimum wage would say it’s tough, given how much everything’s gone up in cost.”
While the closed borders during the pandemic resulted in a shortage of workers and high labour demand, that has flipped in recent years with the weak economy resulting in businesses laying off staff.
“Lots of people I know have been made redundant in the last year or so,” Parker says.
“It’s quite hard for workers to have the power to demand pay rises in a market where they’re just worried about keeping hold of their jobs.”
Listen to the episode for the full conversation.
The Economy of Everything is available on the iHeart app or wherever you get your podcasts.
The series is hosted by Liam Dann, business editor-at-large and Tamsyn Parker, business editor for the NZ Herald. Thanks to CMC Markets.