NZ labour costs rise 0.5 percent in December quarter as Canterbury rebuild picks up pace

NZ labour costs rise 0.5 percent in December quarter as Canterbury rebuild picks up pace
By Paul McBeth Feb. 5 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand labour costs rose in line with expectations in the final three months of 2012 as the gathering pace of Canterbury's reconstruction effort saw the building and construction sector underpin gains. Private sector salary and ordinary time wages rose 0.5 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, as expected, and maintaining the same pace of growth from a quarter earlier, according to Statistics New Zealand's labour cost index. Public sector wages rose 0.5 percent in the quarter, and including ov...