Salaries rose 7% to $76,538 a year for jobs advertised on seek.co.nz from January to December.
Seek New Zealand general manager Janet Faulding said December was the highest performing month for salaries, following five months of consecutive growth in the country's average annual pay. The increases reflected the positive change seen in the economy in 2014.
''An extra $400 or so dollars in the hand each month will make a significant difference for many New Zealanders.
''The local economy had a resoundingly good year in 2014 and it's great to see Kiwis directly benefiting from this economic growth with higher salaries,'' she said.
Statistics New Zealand's September quarter labour cost index showed annual wage rates grew 1.6% in the year ended September. Private sector annual wage growth rate moved up but the public sector eased.
Wage inflation is being held low by the flood of New Zealanders returning home from Australia as the economy there continues to deteriorate, taking on jobs being created by growth in New Zealand.
Economists agree unemployment levels and wage growth will remain about where they have been for the past year because of returning Kiwis and higher migration from other countries.
The Council of Trade Unions complained all of last year about workers not feeling the benefit of the so-called ''rock star economy'', with pay rises kept to an absolute minimum and workers continuing to face redundancy.
However, Ms Faulding said after Kiwis had spent years flocking to Australia's shores in search of better pay packets, the wage gap appeared to be closing. Pay packets for roles in Australia rose 3% in the year, compared with 7% in New Zealand.
Workers in Wellington and Auckland were the highest paid last year.
For the best chance to earn the highest salary, workers would need to head to Wellington where the average salary reached $82,357 a year, $5819 higher than the national average.
In Auckland, salaries also rose to above the national average, reaching $78,414 in December. Both centres saw increases of 7% on par with national growth, she said.
''Interestingly, and despite not reaching the same level as the national average, it was the regions that experienced the strongest growth in 2014. Manawatu recorded an increase of 11%, while pay for roles in the Bay of Plenty rose 10%.''
At an industry level, roles in insurance and superannuation saw the strongest gains last year, growing by a significant 23% from January to finish the year on an average annual salary of $88,133, well above the national average, Ms Faulding said.
The second fastest growing salary was real estate and property roles with a 16% increase and a new average pay of $84,882.
Salaries for almost half the industries monitored were above the national average in December and the top three earning classifications spanned white and blue-collar roles, she said.
Consulting and strategy was the highest earning industry in 2014 and the only one to break six figures, with an average annual salary of more than $104,000. Engineering was the second highest paid industry on $93,352 followed by construction on $92,286.
Higher salaries in consulting and strategy were largely driven by management and change consultants earning an average of $117,857 in December, Ms Faulding said.
