Wages for government contractors’ lower paid public-facing roles, such as helpdesk, contact centre, and customer service contracts, went up the greatest percentage, 46 percent, in the year to July 2022.
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New figures out on what the government pays contractors show steep rate rises of up to 46 percent, but also drops of up to 15 percent.
National has been castigating the government about the spending.
An updated benchmark of rates to help departments monitor the spend has just been issued for only the second time by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
It compares 2021, to the 2022 financial year, using the average rate for the top 10 commonly reported job categories.
Overall, contractors were getting 8.5 percent more in 2022, just ahead of inflation and well ahead of most private and public sector wage rises.
IT contractors as usual dominate the high rates, at up to about $250 an hour, and averages about $150.
But it is much lower paid public-facing roles, such as helpdesk, contact centre, and customer service contracts, that went up the greatest percentage, 46 percent, in the year to July 2022.
These average more like $50-$60 an hour.
“Of those previously paid more than $125 per hour, increases have been minimal to non-existent with only one job category (programme directors/managers) matching or outpacing inflation,” the ministry told RNZ on Thursday.
IT roles in general went up 11 percent, and non-IT by just six percent.
“We have high inflation and a tight labour market, including a skills shortage and low unemployment,” said ministry delivery services director Matt Perkins.
It was only the benchmark’s second year, and “long-term trends will become more evident over time”.
“Agencies continue to make their own decisions on what rates are acceptable” balancing skills, experience and the project on offer, Perkins said.
One objective was to promote transparency across the procurement system.
“The intention of publishing the benchmark data is to provide government agencies with greater confidence when making hiring decisions,” he said.
The benchmark data has been accessed about 700 times in the last year.
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