21 February 2019

Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

The average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in Australia in November 2018 was $1,604.90 (trend), according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures released today.

This was an increase of 1.2 per cent over the last six months and an annual increase of 2.4 per cent.

Bruce Hockman, Chief Economist at the ABS, said: "This latest data points to ongoing low growth in average earnings with the annual increase in line with the Wage Price Index data released yesterday. The growth of 1.2 per cent for the last six months is the same as it was at May 2018."

"Over the year, average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in the private sector increased by 2.3 per cent and public sector by 2.6 per cent, with the average earnings in the public sector remaining higher than in the private sector."

Mr Hockman said, that in original terms, the Australian Capital Territory continued to be the state or territory with the highest average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults at $1,813.30, while mining remained the leading industry at $2,611.70.

"Meanwhile, Tasmania remained the state or territory with the lowest average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults at $1,399.50 while accommodation and food services continued to be the lowest paid industry on average at $1,161.00," said Mr Hockman.

Percentage movements in average weekly earnings can be affected by changes in both the level of earnings per employee and in the composition of the labour force. Factors which can contribute to compositional change include variations in the proportion of full-time, part-time, casual and junior employees; variations in the occupational distribution within and across industries; and variations in the distribution of employment between industries.

Further details are available in Average Weekly Earnings, November 2018 (cat. no. 6302.0), available for free download from the ABS website https://www.abs.gov.au.

Media notes:

• Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
• For media requests and interviews, contact ABS Media on 1300 175 070 or at media@abs.gov.au (8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri).
• Subscribe to our media release notification service to be notified of ABS media releases or publications upon their release.