16 August 2018

Embargoed: 11.30 am (Canberra time)

The average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in Australia in May 2018 was $1,585.30, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures.

This was an increase of 1.0 per cent over the last six months and an annual increase of 2.7 per cent.

Bruce Hockman, Chief Economist at the ABS, said, "We're still seeing low average earnings growth, however the six months to May 2018 were stronger than the six months to May 2017, when it was just 0.6 per cent."

Over the year, average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults in the private sector increased by 2.7 per cent and public sector by 3.2 per cent, with the average earnings in the public sector remaining higher than in the private sector.

The Australian Capital Territory continued to be the state or territory with the highest average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults at $1,810.10, while mining remained the leading industry at $2,592.00.

"At the other end of the scale, Tasmania remained the state or territory with the lowest average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults at $1,379.30, and accommodation and food services continued to be the lowest paid industry on average at $1,136.60," said Mr Hockman.

Further details are available in Average Weekly Earnings, May 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.