NZ labour costs rise

Pension funds, holidays push New Zealand labor costs up 2 pct
[e]John Macdonald
20131018
Pension funds, holidays push New Zealand labor costs up 2 pct

WELLINGTON, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) — Labor costs in New Zealand were up 2 percent in the year to the end of June, with salary and wage rates up 1.7 percent, the government statistics agency announced Friday.
The non-wage component of labor costs rose 3.2 percent, reflecting higher costs for annual leave and statutory holidays, superannuation, low-interest loans and medical insurance, according to Statistics New Zealand.
Employers’ superannuation costs per employee rose 23.2 percent, reflecting a rise in the minimum employer contribution to the KiwiSaver superannuation scheme from 2 percent to 3 percent from April.
Workplace accident insurance costs were down 13.3 percent in the year to June, prices manager Chris Pike said in a statement.
Other non-wage labor costs (medical insurance, motor vehicles for private use, and low-interest loans) fell by 0.8 percent.  Enditem