There has been a modest rise in wage rates and salaries.
Official figures show the Labour Cost Index rose 0.5% in the last three months of 2012, compared with the previous quarter.
Wage growth has been modest in recent years, in line with the slow recovery since the global financial crisis, and Tuesday figures from Statistics New Zealand show that trend continuing.
On an annual basis, wage rates grew 1.8%, with public-sector pay lagging behind that of the private sector, reflecting the Government's efforts to keep costs under control.
Perhaps not surprisingly, wage growth in the construction sector in earthquake-damaged Canterbury rose more sharply than in the rest of New Zealand.
Employment picked up slightly with a rise in fulltime work offsetting fewer part-time jobs, while hours worked also increased.
Rates in the private sector rose by 1.9%, while public sector wages increased 1.5%.
The Reserve Bank keeps a close watch on private sector wages as its preferred measure of wage cost inflation.
But Deutsche Bank's chief economist Darren Gibbs says the subdued labour costs should not concern the central bank and the figures are in line with forecasts for small drop in unemployment numbers on Thursday.
The Quarterly Employment Survey, also out on Tuesday, shows average hourly earnings rose 2.6% last year.
Private sector wages fell unexpectedly by 0.4% in December, but Mr Gibbs says those figures are volatile.
The Council of Trade Unions economist Bill Rosenberg says 45% of the workforce didn't get a wage rise at all over the past year.
And he says the average hourly wage of $25.27 actually fell by 2 cents in the December quarter.
"That doesn't often happen that the average wage actually falls over a quarter like that. What we're seeing is that for many families wages, which are their main way of keeping income, the main way we share the income that the economy generates around New Zealand families, they're just finding that they're not getting enough to have a decent standard of living."
Lack of wage increases hitting families: Budget service
Budgeting services say small increases in wages and salaries over the past year have made little difference to the fortunes of the many struggling families they deal with.
The Mangere Budgeting and Family Support Service deals daily with people who earn nowhere near the average hourly wage of about $25.25.
Its chief executive, Darryl Evans, says every day more and more people are approaching them for food-parcel assistance.
He says rent increases are adding to the stress on low income earners.
The Federation of Budgeting Services says it is also seeing more middle-range wage earners asking for assistance because of the lack of wage increases.
