Minimum wage workers will receive a 2 percent pay rise from 1 April, lifting the adult minimum wage from $23.50 to $23.95 an hour, an increase that remains below current inflation.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden said the change would benefit about 122,500 workers and was designed to balance cost-of-living pressures with the need to avoid further strain on businesses.
The increase follows advice from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which said a 2 percent rise would broadly maintain real incomes while minimising job losses, particularly in sectors such as hospitality, retail, tourism, agriculture and cleaning.
MBIE noted the impact would be greatest for young, part-time, female and Māori workers. Starting-out and training wages will also rise to $19.16 an hour, maintaining their 80 percent relativity to the adult rate, with economists suggesting the increase is broadly in line with projected inflation trends.
