6306.0 - Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 1996  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 03/04/1997   
   Page tools: Print Print Page Print all pages in this productPrint All

MEDIA RELEASE

April 03, 1997
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
50/1997

A quarter of all employees earn over $750 per week

Average weekly earnings of employees was $573.70 in May 1996, with a quarter of employees earning more than $751.40 and another quarter earning $342.40 or less, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The data also showed that approximately 1 in 10 employees earned $1,000 or more per week.

Full-time adult non-managerial employees, who make up the majority of employees (55.8 per cent), received average weekly earnings of $683.00, including $48.70 for overtime. These employees worked, on average, 39.8 hours per week, with 2.0 hours of this being paid overtime. Male full-time adult non-managerial employees recorded higher average hours of paid work per week (40.8 hours) than female employees (38.2 hours), due mainly to more overtime worked. They also received higher average weekly earnings of $729.70, compared with females ($605.70).

Average weekly earnings for full-time adult non-managerial employees ranged from $532.80 for the Retail trade industry to $1,153.50 for the Mining industry. The Construction industry recorded the highest average weekly paid overtime hours (4.0 hours).

Average weekly earnings of full-time adult employees (both managerial and non-managerial) was $723.90. Part-time employees received $253.10, full-time junior non-managerial employees received average weekly earnings of $319.70, and full-time adult managerial employees received $917.50.

The occupations for which full-time adult employees received the highest average weekly earnings were managers and administrators (males $1,162.30; females $987.80) and professionals (males $933.30; females $774.90). The lowest earnings were recorded for labourers and related workers (males $582.40; females $489.20) and for elementary clerical, sales and service workers (males $613.10; females $503.40).

Details are in Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia, May 1996 (cat. no. 6306.0) which is available from ABS bookshops.