Wages and salaries grow 5.8% in year to March 2025
Total wages and salaries paid by employers were $104.8 billion in March 2025, up 5.8 per cent from $99.0 billion in March 2024, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: ‘The total wages and salaries paid by employers reached a series high of $104.8 billion in March 2025. Wages and salaries typically peak in March before falling in April, a seasonal pattern observed in previous years.
‘Wages and salaries rose in March due to periodic bonuses paid within some industries, such as Mining, Wholesale trade and Financial and insurance services.’
March quarter growth similar to 2023
‘Comparing month estimates over a longer period such as a quarter can help give a clearer view of underlying growth,’ Mr Crick said.
‘Total wages and salaries paid by employers grew 1.1 per cent across the March quarter 2025, similar to the growth seen in the same quarter in 2023 of 1.3 per cent.
‘March quarter growth in 2024 was lower at 0.3 per cent, driven by the combined impact of extreme weather events on the east coast of Australia and relatively tighter labour market conditions.’
Annual growth in all industries
Total wages and salaries paid by employers grew in all 19 industries in the year to March 2025.
Annual growth ranged from +3.7 per cent in the Mining industry to +11.9 per cent in Electricity, gas, water and waste services.
In dollar terms, the rises were greatest in the Health care and social assistance services industry (+$1.1 billion or +7.8 per cent), Public administration and safety (+$0.6 billion or +8.1 per cent), and Construction ($0.6 billion or +7.1 per cent).
a. Industries are ranked by descending annual change at March 2025.
In quarterly terms, the Mining industry’s March quarter rise of $1.2 billion included periodic bonuses paid. The Education and training industry’s drop of $1.2 billion reflected lower employment over the summer holiday period.
a. Industries are ranked by descending March quarter 2025 change.
Annual growth above 3 per cent in all states and territories
Every state and territory saw a rise in total wages and salaries paid by employers in the year to March 2025, ranging from 3.9 per cent in Tasmania to 7.9 per cent in the Northern Territory.
Annual growth in dollar terms to March 2025 was less than that seen a year earlier in all states and territories, except for the Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Annual growth was greatest in New South Wales (+$1.7 billion) and Queensland (+$1.3 billion).
Media notes
- All estimates in this release are calendar-adjusted enabling the comparisons of monthly data. However, these estimates are not yet seasonally adjusted, which generally requires at least three years of reasonably stable data. The longstanding seasonally adjusted Labour Force statistics series can aid in the interpretation of labour statistics across periods of greater seasonality.
- As an aggregate measure of total wages and salaries, estimates capture a mix of compositional changes in the labour market which can’t be separated. This includes pay rises, periodic payments, variations in hours paid and changes in employment. It complements but is different to the measure of underlying wage growth reported in the ABS’ Wage Price Index.
- To learn more about our different labour measures, their purpose and how to use them, see our new guide to Labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Industry employment and Earnings data.
- The ABS acknowledges the continued support of the ATO in enabling the ABS to produce insights into the Australian labour market from Single Touch Payroll data.
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