Employee earnings

Latest release

Weekly earnings of employees, including distribution of earnings and hourly earnings, by State, Occupation, Industry and Qualifications

Reference period

August 2023

Released

13/12/2023

Next release 12/02/2025

Key statistics

Median employee earnings was $1,300 per week, up $52 (4.2%) since August 2022.
Median hourly earnings was $39.50 per hour, up $2.50 since August 2022.

Weekly earnings

Median weekly earnings in main job
	August 2023	August 2022	August 2018	2022 to 2023 (% change)	2018 to 2023 (% change p.a.)
Total employed
Men	$1,500	$1,415	$1,260	6.0%	3.5%
Women	$1,150	$1,082	$911	6.3%	4.8%
Total	$1,300	$1,248	$1,075	4.2%	3.9%
Employed full-time
Men	$1,692	$1,600	$1,431	5.8%	3.4%
Women	$1,500	$1,434	$1,235	4.6%	4.0%
Total	$1,600	$1,500	$1,342	6.7%	3.6%

p.a. - per annum, average growth per year.

In August 2023, median weekly earnings for employees was $1,300, up $52 from $1,248 in August 2022. Median weekly earnings increased at a faster rate for women than men over the past 5 years, in part because the proportion of women working full-time increased.

Median weekly earnings in main job, by sex and full-time or part-time status
	Women full-time ($)	Men full-time ($)	Women part-time ($)	Men part-time ($)
1975	109	139	55	36
1976	126	159	65	49
1977	142	174	69	45
1978	154	192	76	68
1979	164	205	82	64
1980	182	224	89	68
1981	206	252	100	78
1982	232	293	109	93
1983	249	308	113	103
1984	270	332	123	103
1985	287	357	136	108
1986	310	382	142	99
1987	330	405	154	100
1988	350	431	159	107
1989	380	460	180	100
1990	420	500	180	100
1991	430	512	189	143
1992	460	540	180	100
1993	460	540	180	140
1994	500	580	220	140
1995	500	580	220	140
1996
1997	550	650	225	150
1998	560	651	230	150
1999	600	700	242.17	160
2000	615	738	250	176
2001	650	750	260	176
2002	673	800	275	187.66
2003	700	805	290	225
2004	729.02	850	315	240
2005	760	900	325	250
2006	800	950	340	273.94
2007	846	1,000	360	299
2008	900	1,025.20	380	285.71
2009	916.99	1,096	400	300
2010	962	1,134	400	320
2011	1,000	1,194.30	428.87	350
2012	1,040	1,200	450	360
2013	1,035	1,250	455.26	361
2014	1,100	1,306	499.32	400
2015	1,126.53	1,300	500	400
2016	1,150	1,333.00	500	415.85
2017	1,190	1,367.33	533	430.64
2018	1,235.00	1,431	550	465
2019	1,250	1,476	572	500
2020	1,342	1,500	700	550
2021	1,377	1,540	613.68	520.99
2022	1,434	1,600	650	547
2023	1,500	1,692	699	600

Median weekly earnings in main job, by sex and full-time or part-time status

["","Women full-time","Men full-time","Women part-time","Men part-time"]

[["1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[109],[126],[142],[154],[164],[182],[206],[232],[249],[270],[287],[310],[330],[350],[380],[420],[430],[460],[460],[500],[500],[null],[550],[560],[600],[615],[650],[673],[700],[729.01999999999998],[760],[800],[846],[900],[916.99000000000001],[962],[1000],[1040],[1035],[1100],[1126.53],[1150],[1190],[1235],[1250],[1342],[1377],[1434],[1500]],[[139],[159],[174],[192],[205],[224],[252],[293],[308],[332],[357],[382],[405],[431],[460],[500],[512],[540],[540],[580],[580],[null],[650],[651],[700],[738],[750],[800],[805],[850],[900],[950],[1000],[1025.2],[1096],[1134],[1194.3],[1200],[1250],[1306],[1300],[1333],[1367.3299999999999],[1431],[1476],[1500],[1540],[1600],[1692]],[[55],[65],[69],[76],[82],[89],[100],[109],[113],[123],[136],[142],[154],[159],[180],[180],[189],[180],[180],[220],[220],[null],[225],[230],[242.16999999999999],[250],[260],[275],[290],[315],[325],[340],[360],[380],[400],[400],[428.87],[450],[455.25999999999999],[499.31999999999999],[500],[500],[533],[550],[572],[700],[613.67999999999995],[650],[699]],[[36],[49],[45],[68],[64],[68],[78],[93],[103],[103],[108],[99],[100],[107],[100],[100],[143],[100],[140],[140],[140],[null],[150],[150],[160],[176],[176],[187.66],[225],[240],[250],[273.94],[299],[285.70999999999998],[300],[320],[350],[360],[361],[400],[400],[415.85000000000002],[430.63999999999999],[465],[500],[550],[520.99000000000001],[547],[600]]]

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Growth in median weekly earnings of main job by sex
	Women full-time (%)	Men full-time (%)
1980	10.8	10
1981	10.3	9.6
1982	10.3	11
1983	10.1	9.9
1984	10.5	10.1
1985	9.5	9.8
1986	8.5	8.7
1987	7.3	6.7
1988	7	7
1989	7.1	6.7
1990	7.9	7
1991	6.8	6
1992	6.9	5.9
1993	5.6	4.6
1994	5.6	4.7
1995	3.5	3
1996	4.1	3.7
1997	3.6	3.8
1998	4	3.8
1999	3.7	3.8
2000	4.2	4.9
2001	4.4	4
2002	4.1	4.2
2003	4.6	4.3
2004	4	4
2005	4.3	4
2006	4.2	4.8
2007	4.7	4.6
2008	5.2	5
2009	4.7	5.2
2010	4.8	4.7
2011	4.6	4.7
2012	4.2	3.7
2013	2.8	4
2014	3.7	3.6
2015	3.2	2.8
2016	2.8	2.2
2017	2.7	2.6
2018	3.6	2.7
2019	2.6	2.5
2020	3.6	2.9
2021	3.7	2.9
2022	3.8	3.2
2023	4	3.4

Growth in median weekly earnings of main job by sex

["","Women full-time","Men full-time"]

[["1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[10.800000000000001],[10.300000000000001],[10.300000000000001],[10.1],[10.5],[9.5],[8.5],[7.2999999999999998],[7],[7.0999999999999996],[7.9000000000000004],[6.7999999999999998],[6.9000000000000004],[5.5999999999999996],[5.5999999999999996],[3.5],[4.0999999999999996],[3.6000000000000001],[4],[3.7000000000000002],[4.2000000000000002],[4.4000000000000004],[4.0999999999999996],[4.5999999999999996],[4],[4.2999999999999998],[4.2000000000000002],[4.7000000000000002],[5.2000000000000002],[4.7000000000000002],[4.7999999999999998],[4.5999999999999996],[4.2000000000000002],[2.7999999999999998],[3.7000000000000002],[3.2000000000000002],[2.7999999999999998],[2.7000000000000002],[3.6000000000000001],[2.6000000000000001],[3.6000000000000001],[3.7000000000000002],[3.7999999999999998],[4]],[[10],[9.5999999999999996],[11],[9.9000000000000004],[10.1],[9.8000000000000007],[8.6999999999999993],[6.7000000000000002],[7],[6.7000000000000002],[7],[6],[5.9000000000000004],[4.5999999999999996],[4.7000000000000002],[3],[3.7000000000000002],[3.7999999999999998],[3.7999999999999998],[3.7999999999999998],[4.9000000000000004],[4],[4.2000000000000002],[4.2999999999999998],[4],[4],[4.7999999999999998],[4.5999999999999996],[5],[5.2000000000000002],[4.7000000000000002],[4.7000000000000002],[3.7000000000000002],[4],[3.6000000000000001],[2.7999999999999998],[2.2000000000000002],[2.6000000000000001],[2.7000000000000002],[2.5],[2.8999999999999999],[2.8999999999999999],[3.2000000000000002],[3.3999999999999999]]]

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Earnings guide

To learn more about the earnings data collected by the ABS, refer to our Guide to labour statistics. It provides summary information on labour market topics including Earnings data.

Hourly earnings

Median hourly earnings in main job
	August 2023	August 2022	August 2018	2022 to 2023 (% change)	2018 to 2023 (% change p.a.)
Men	$40.50	$38.50	$32.90	5.4%	4.2%
Women	$38.20	$35.50	$30.00	7.8%	5.0%
Total	$39.50	$37.00	$31.30	6.7%	4.7%

Distribution of earnings

In August 2023,

25% of all employees earned less than $820 per week in their main job (25th percentile).
50% of all employees earned less than $1,300 (50th percentile/median).
75% of all employees earned less than $1,975 (75th percentile).
90% of all employees earned less than $2,820 (90th percentile).

Earnings for all percentiles increased. The largest increase was seen in the 40th percentile, increasing by 5.8% since August 2022. The percentile with the lowest growth was the bottom 10th percentile, increasing 3.0% since August 2022.

Distribution of weekly earnings in main job
	August 2023	August 2022	August 2018	2022 to 2023 (% change)	2018 to 2023 (% change p.a.)
10th Percentile	$412	$400	$342	3.0%	3.8%
25th Percentile	$820	$799	$687	2.6%	3.6%
50th Percentile	$1,300	$1,248	$1,075	4.2%	3.9%
75th Percentile	$1,975	$1,898	$1,604	4.1%	4.2%
90th Percentile	$2,820	$2,699	$2,348	4.5%	3.7%

In August 2020, there were considerable changes to the distribution of earnings. Around 920,000 employees earned between $700 and $799 per week (which included jobs supported by $750 payments from the JobKeeper wage subsidy), which was higher than the 570,000 earning the same amount in August 2019. In August 2021, this number dropped to 500,000 employees and has continued to fall to 480,000 in August 2023.

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - 2019 to 2023
	Difference between 2023 and 2019 ('000)	2019 ('000)	2020 ('000)	2021 ('000)	2022 ('000)	2023 ('000)
$0 to $99	0.9	210.9	191.6	219.3	202.3	211.8
$100 to $199	-34.7	339.7	262.6	303.8	300.7	305.0
$200 to $299	-41.5	318.6	251.2	267.5	279.6	277.1
$300 to $399	-62.0	364.6	281.2	329.3	327.3	302.6
$400 to $499	-107.0	459.3	329.7	405.9	368.0	352.3
$500 to $599	-48.7	428.9	385.4	413.4	422.2	380.2
$600 to $699	-30.9	496.8	436.3	443.1	477.4	465.9
$700 to $799	-95.1	574.1	917.1	496.8	494.2	479.0
$800 to $899	-141.7	622.3	579.7	556.9	530.3	480.6
$900 to $999	-120.0	695.8	603.4	598.5	614.7	575.8
$1000 to $1099	-23.4	743.8	680.0	692.1	760.5	720.4
$1100 to $1199	11.3	599.4	547.2	572.2	615.8	610.7
$1200 to $1299	76.8	624.7	588.6	634.8	659.3	701.5
$1300 to $1399	73.9	447.0	416.0	468.5	508.3	520.9
$1400 to $1499	93.1	387.7	390.0	414.5	485.5	480.8
$1500 to $1599	119.4	467.9	472.1	480.0	527.3	587.3
$1600 to $1699	116.0	302.7	327.7	347.8	391.0	418.7
$1700 to $1799	94.0	331.5	329.9	333.5	365.0	425.5
$1800 to $1899	94.5	231.1	267.6	283.5	266.7	325.6
$1900 to $1999	81.5	230.4	217.9	238.2	264.1	311.9
$2000 to $2099	105.1	260.6	283.6	313.7	336.8	365.7
$2100 to $2199	65.8	166.4	189.7	178.0	228.2	232.2
$2200 to $2299	81.3	128.0	160.8	168.9	188.7	209.3
$2300 to $2399	78.4	157.0	170.1	182.9	241.7	235.4
$2400 to $2499	95.9	98.6	102.7	126.4	157.6	194.5
$2500 to $2599	45.0	145.1	147.0	143.2	185.5	190.1
$2600 to $2699	60.4	68.5	75.3	100.8	115.9	128.9
$2700 to $2799	51.5	85.4	88.3	87.2	103.0	136.9
$2800 to $2899	56.1	78.2	75.1	88.4	107.7	134.3
$2900 to $2999	43.2	36.7	53.5	64.9	72.6	79.9
$3000 to $3099	57.9	59.6	81.8	95.9	94.3	117.5
$3100 to $3199	33.6	29.0	32.0	40.8	46.0	62.6
$3200 to $3299	33.3	47.7	51.5	57.3	59.1	81.0
$3300 to $3399	24.6	20.2	32.0	37.0	43.3	44.8
$3400 to $3499	33.3	44.6	49.1	62.2	53.9	77.9
$3500 to $3599	20.8	32.3	31.2	45.4	53.1	53.1
$3600 to $3699	22.0	26.2	28.8	31.2	42.5	48.2

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - 2019 to 2023

["","Difference between 2023 and 2019","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"]

[["$0 to $99","$100 to $199","$200 to $299","$300 to $399","$400 to $499","$500 to $599","$600 to $699","$700 to $799","$800 to $899","$900 to $999","$1000 to $1099","$1100 to $1199","$1200 to $1299","$1300 to $1399","$1400 to $1499","$1500 to $1599","$1600 to $1699","$1700 to $1799","$1800 to $1899","$1900 to $1999","$2000 to $2099","$2100 to $2199","$2200 to $2299","$2300 to $2399","$2400 to $2499","$2500 to $2599","$2600 to $2699","$2700 to $2799","$2800 to $2899","$2900 to $2999","$3000 to $3099","$3100 to $3199","$3200 to $3299","$3300 to $3399","$3400 to $3499","$3500 to $3599","$3600 to $3699"],[[0.90000000000000002],[-34.700000000000003],[-41.5],[-62],[-107],[-48.700000000000003],[-30.899999999999999],[-95.099999999999994],[-141.69999999999999],[-120],[-23.399999999999999],[11.300000000000001],[76.799999999999997],[73.900000000000006],[93.099999999999994],[119.40000000000001],[116],[94],[94.5],[81.5],[105.09999999999999],[65.799999999999997],[81.299999999999997],[78.400000000000006],[95.900000000000006],[45],[60.399999999999999],[51.5],[56.100000000000001],[43.200000000000003],[57.899999999999999],[33.600000000000001],[33.299999999999997],[24.600000000000001],[33.299999999999997],[20.800000000000001],[22]],[[210.90000000000001],[339.69999999999999],[318.60000000000002],[364.60000000000002],[459.30000000000001],[428.89999999999998],[496.80000000000001],[574.10000000000002],[622.29999999999995],[695.79999999999995],[743.79999999999995],[599.39999999999998],[624.70000000000005],[447],[387.69999999999999],[467.89999999999998],[302.69999999999999],[331.5],[231.09999999999999],[230.40000000000001],[260.60000000000002],[166.40000000000001],[128],[157],[98.599999999999994],[145.09999999999999],[68.5],[85.400000000000006],[78.200000000000003],[36.700000000000003],[59.600000000000001],[29],[47.700000000000003],[20.199999999999999],[44.600000000000001],[32.299999999999997],[26.199999999999999]],[[191.59999999999999],[262.60000000000002],[251.19999999999999],[281.19999999999999],[329.69999999999999],[385.39999999999998],[436.30000000000001],[917.10000000000002],[579.70000000000005],[603.39999999999998],[680],[547.20000000000005],[588.60000000000002],[416],[390],[472.10000000000002],[327.69999999999999],[329.89999999999998],[267.60000000000002],[217.90000000000001],[283.60000000000002],[189.69999999999999],[160.80000000000001],[170.09999999999999],[102.7],[147],[75.299999999999997],[88.299999999999997],[75.099999999999994],[53.5],[81.799999999999997],[32],[51.5],[32],[49.100000000000001],[31.199999999999999],[28.800000000000001]],[[219.30000000000001],[303.80000000000001],[267.5],[329.30000000000001],[405.89999999999998],[413.39999999999998],[443.10000000000002],[496.80000000000001],[556.89999999999998],[598.5],[692.10000000000002],[572.20000000000005],[634.79999999999995],[468.5],[414.5],[480],[347.80000000000001],[333.5],[283.5],[238.19999999999999],[313.69999999999999],[178],[168.90000000000001],[182.90000000000001],[126.40000000000001],[143.19999999999999],[100.8],[87.200000000000003],[88.400000000000006],[64.900000000000006],[95.900000000000006],[40.799999999999997],[57.299999999999997],[37],[62.200000000000003],[45.399999999999999],[31.199999999999999]],[[202.30000000000001],[300.69999999999999],[279.60000000000002],[327.30000000000001],[368],[422.19999999999999],[477.39999999999998],[494.19999999999999],[530.29999999999995],[614.70000000000005],[760.5],[615.79999999999995],[659.29999999999995],[508.30000000000001],[485.5],[527.29999999999995],[391],[365],[266.69999999999999],[264.10000000000002],[336.80000000000001],[228.19999999999999],[188.69999999999999],[241.69999999999999],[157.59999999999999],[185.5],[115.90000000000001],[103],[107.7],[72.599999999999994],[94.299999999999997],[46],[59.100000000000001],[43.299999999999997],[53.899999999999999],[53.100000000000001],[42.5]],[[211.80000000000001],[305],[277.10000000000002],[302.60000000000002],[352.30000000000001],[380.19999999999999],[465.89999999999998],[479],[480.60000000000002],[575.79999999999995],[720.39999999999998],[610.70000000000005],[701.5],[520.89999999999998],[480.80000000000001],[587.29999999999995],[418.69999999999999],[425.5],[325.60000000000002],[311.89999999999998],[365.69999999999999],[232.19999999999999],[209.30000000000001],[235.40000000000001],[194.5],[190.09999999999999],[128.90000000000001],[136.90000000000001],[134.30000000000001],[79.900000000000006],[117.5],[62.600000000000001],[81],[44.799999999999997],[77.900000000000006],[53.100000000000001],[48.200000000000003]]]

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Note: In August 2020 there was a larger number of people than usual earning around $750 per week, which was the amount of the JobKeeper wage subsidy.

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - 1989 to 2023
	1989 ('000)	1994 ('000)	1999 ('000)	2004 ('000)	2009 ('000)	2014 ('000)	2019 ('000)	2023 ('000)
$0 to $199	1,004.5	853.7	802.8	787.1	696.5	582.5	550.5	516.9
$200 to $399	2,238.1	1,396.6	1,017.8	904.3	811.2	727.8	683.2	579.7
$400 to $599	1,890.2	2,060.6	1,653.3	1,410.7	1,025.8	900.2	888.3	732.5
$600 to $799	756.6	1,078.8	1,271.6	1,584.3	1,499.5	1,159.0	1,070.9	944.9
$800 to $999	170.6	494.5	783.5	1,019.8	1,322.0	1,358.4	1,318.2	1,056.5
$1000 to $1199	71.4	220.6	395.6	740.8	999.3	1,144.6	1,343.2	1,331.1
$1200 to $1399	30.4	54.8	178.7	415.7	759.8	910.0	1,071.7	1,222.4
$1400 to $1599	12.0	27.5	100.7	221.1	505.3	678.3	855.6	1,068.1
$1600 to $1799	9.3	18.5	62.0	130.7	341.9	496.7	634.2	844.2
$1800 to $1999	5.8	10.4	30.6	85.6	184.4	335.4	461.4	637.5
$2000 to $2199	3.8	5.3	28.3	65.1	160.8	300.3	427.0	597.9
$2200 to $2399	1.9	3.4	18.6	41.8	117.5	200.2	285.0	444.7
$2400 to $2599	1.3	2.6	9.5	38.0	67.8	167.0	243.7	384.7
$2600 to $2799	0.4	3.5	7.2	11.9	49.3	93.0	153.9	265.8
$2800 to $2999	0.3	3.3	4.8	14.4	37.8	84.6	114.9	214.1
$3000 to $3199	0	0.9	2.0	16.7	31.8	67.5	88.6	180.1
$3200 to $3399	0	0.4	2.4	6.3	26.0	46.8	67.9	125.8
$3400 to $3599	0.5	0.4	1.5	7.2	21.8	44.0	76.9	131.1
$3600 to $3799	0.4	0.8	1.9	2.8	14.5	27.3	50.8	86.9

Weekly earnings distribution in main job - 1989 to 2023

["","1989","1994","1999","2004","2009","2014","2019","2023"]

[["$0 to $199","$200 to $399","$400 to $599","$600 to $799","$800 to $999","$1000 to $1199","$1200 to $1399","$1400 to $1599","$1600 to $1799","$1800 to $1999","$2000 to $2199","$2200 to $2399","$2400 to $2599","$2600 to $2799","$2800 to $2999","$3000 to $3199","$3200 to $3399","$3400 to $3599","$3600 to $3799"],[[1004.5],[2238.0999999999999],[1890.2],[756.60000000000002],[170.59999999999999],[71.400000000000006],[30.399999999999999],[12],[9.3000000000000007],[5.7999999999999998],[3.7999999999999998],[1.8999999999999999],[1.3],[0.40000000000000002],[0.29999999999999999],[0],[0],[0.5],[0.40000000000000002]],[[853.70000000000005],[1396.5999999999999],[2060.5999999999999],[1078.8],[494.5],[220.59999999999999],[54.799999999999997],[27.5],[18.5],[10.4],[5.2999999999999998],[3.3999999999999999],[2.6000000000000001],[3.5],[3.2999999999999998],[0.90000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.40000000000000002],[0.80000000000000004]],[[802.79999999999995],[1017.8],[1653.3],[1271.5999999999999],[783.5],[395.60000000000002],[178.69999999999999],[100.7],[62],[30.600000000000001],[28.300000000000001],[18.600000000000001],[9.5],[7.2000000000000002],[4.7999999999999998],[2],[2.3999999999999999],[1.5],[1.8999999999999999]],[[787.10000000000002],[904.29999999999995],[1410.7],[1584.3],[1019.8],[740.79999999999995],[415.69999999999999],[221.09999999999999],[130.69999999999999],[85.599999999999994],[65.099999999999994],[41.799999999999997],[38],[11.9],[14.4],[16.699999999999999],[6.2999999999999998],[7.2000000000000002],[2.7999999999999998]],[[696.5],[811.20000000000005],[1025.8],[1499.5],[1322],[999.29999999999995],[759.79999999999995],[505.30000000000001],[341.89999999999998],[184.40000000000001],[160.80000000000001],[117.5],[67.799999999999997],[49.299999999999997],[37.799999999999997],[31.800000000000001],[26],[21.800000000000001],[14.5]],[[582.5],[727.79999999999995],[900.20000000000005],[1159],[1358.4000000000001],[1144.5999999999999],[910],[678.29999999999995],[496.69999999999999],[335.39999999999998],[300.30000000000001],[200.19999999999999],[167],[93],[84.599999999999994],[67.5],[46.799999999999997],[44],[27.300000000000001]],[[550.5],[683.20000000000005],[888.29999999999995],[1070.9000000000001],[1318.2],[1343.2],[1071.7],[855.60000000000002],[634.20000000000005],[461.39999999999998],[427],[285],[243.69999999999999],[153.90000000000001],[114.90000000000001],[88.599999999999994],[67.900000000000006],[76.900000000000006],[50.799999999999997]],[[516.89999999999998],[579.70000000000005],[732.5],[944.89999999999998],[1056.5],[1331.0999999999999],[1222.4000000000001],[1068.0999999999999],[844.20000000000005],[637.5],[597.89999999999998],[444.69999999999999],[384.69999999999999],[265.80000000000001],[214.09999999999999],[180.09999999999999],[125.8],[131.09999999999999],[86.900000000000006]]]

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State and territory

The state or territory with the highest median weekly earnings in August 2023 was the Australian Capital Territory at $1,550 per week, followed by the Northern Territory ($1,427), New South Wales and Western Australia (both $1,339). The lowest were South Australia ($1,200 per week), Tasmania ($1,210) and Victoria ($1,280).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by state and territory
	2018 ($)	2023 ($)
Australian Capital Territory	1,300	1,550
Northern Territory	1,250	1,427
New South Wales	1,071	1,339
Western Australia	1,189	1,339
Queensland	1,050	1,300
Victoria	1,069	1,280
Tasmania	975	1,210
South Australia	1,000	1,200

Median weekly earnings in main job, by state and territory

["","2018","2023"]

[["Australian Capital Territory","Northern Territory","New South Wales","Western Australia","Queensland","Victoria","Tasmania","South Australia"],[[1300],[1250],[1071],[1189],[1050],[1069],[975],[1000]],[[1550],[1427],[1339],[1339],[1300],[1280],[1210],[1200]]]

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Of the state capital cities, Sydney had the highest median weekly earnings ($1,400 per week), followed by Brisbane ($1,347), Perth ($1,346) and Melbourne ($1,341).

Outside the capital cities, the highest median weekly earnings were in regional Western Australia ($1,284 per week), and the lowest was regional South Australia ($1,120).

Occupation

In August 2023, the occupation groups with highest median weekly earnings were Managers ($1,917 per week) and Professionals ($1,750). The lowest were Sales workers ($750), Labourers and Community and personal service workers (both $900).

Managers and Professionals also had the highest hourly rates ($54.70 and $54.40), while Sales workers and Labourers had the lowest hourly rates ($29.50 and $30.00). The gap between the median hourly rates for occupation groups is smaller than for the total weekly earnings measure, partly due to the difference in hours typically worked for each occupation.

Median hourly earnings in main job, by occupation and skill level
	2018 ($)	2023 ($)
Managers	42.55	54.74
Professionals	44.10	54.38
Clerical and Administrative Workers	30.85	37.50
Technicians and Trades Workers	30.26	36.67
Machinery Operators and Drivers	28.31	34.18
Community and Personal Service Workers	27.00	33.57
Labourers	25.00	30.00
Sales Workers	24.34	29.48

Skill level 1	45.46	56.20
Skill level 2	33.77	40.47
Skill level 3	29.73	35.34
Skill level 4	28.00	34.12
Skill level 5	24.00	28.86

Median hourly earnings in main job, by occupation and skill level

["","2018","2023"]

[["Managers","Professionals","Clerical and Administrative Workers","Technicians and Trades Workers","Machinery Operators and Drivers","Community and Personal Service Workers","Labourers","Sales Workers","","Skill level 1","Skill level 2","Skill level 3","Skill level 4","Skill level 5"],[[42.549999999999997],[44.100000000000001],[30.850000000000001],[30.260000000000002],[28.312999999999999],[27],[25],[24.335000000000001],[null],[45.463999999999999],[33.771999999999998],[29.73],[28],[24]],[[54.740000000000002],[54.380000000000003],[37.5],[36.670000000000002],[34.183999999999997],[33.564999999999998],[30],[29.48],[null],[56.204000000000001],[40.469999999999999],[35.340000000000003],[34.116],[28.863]]]

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1. Data is coded to ANZSCO ver 1.2. For more information on Occupations and Skill level, refer to ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations

The sub-major occupation groups with the highest median weekly earnings in August 2023 were:

Chief Executives, General Managers and Legislators - $2,652.
Specialist Managers - $2,301.
ICT Professionals - $2,205.

The sub-major groups with the lowest median weekly earnings in August 2023 were:

Food Preparation Assistants - $383.
Sales Support Workers - $533.
Hospitality Workers - $575.

Between 2018 and 2023, the sub-major group with the highest average growth in median weekly earnings was Sales Support Workers (5.9% p.a.). The group with the lowest growth was Farmers and Farm managers (0.8% p.a.).

Industry

In August 2023, the industries with the highest median weekly earnings were:

Mining ($2,403 per week, down from $2,493 in August 2022).
Electricity, gas, water and waste services ($1,900, up from $1,876).
Financial and insurance services ($1,750, up from $1,686).
Professional, scientific and technical services ($1,726, up from $1,675).

The industries with the lowest median weekly earnings were:

Accommodation and food services ($650 per week, up from $600 in August 2022).
Retail trade ($875, up from $800).
Arts and recreation services ($915, down from $1,000).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by industry
	2018 ($)	2023 ($)
Mining	2,111	2,403
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,500	1,900
Financial and insurance services	1,433	1,750
Professional, scientific and technical services	1,380	1,726
Public administration and safety	1,442	1,650
Information Media and telecommunications	1,357	1,630
Construction	1,281	1,473
Transport, postal and warehousing	1,200	1,400
Manufacturing	1,150	1,400
Wholesale trade	1,151	1,346
Education and training	1,157	1,342
Rental, hiring and real estate services	1,100	1,250
Health care and social assistance	1,000	1,248
Other services	950	1,104
Administrative and support services	941	1,100
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	922	1,099
Arts and recreation services	715	915
Retail trade	711	875
Accommodation and food services	489	650

Median weekly earnings in main job, by industry

["","2018","2023"]

[["Mining","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Financial and insurance services","Professional, scientific and technical services","Public administration and safety","Information Media and telecommunications","Construction","Transport, postal and warehousing","Manufacturing","Wholesale trade","Education and training","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Health care and social assistance","Other services","Administrative and support services","Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Arts and recreation services","Retail trade","Accommodation and food services"],[[2111],[1500],[1433],[1380],[1442],[1357],[1281],[1200],[1150],[1151],[1157],[1100],[1000],[950],[941.45500000000004],[922],[715.11800000000005],[711.46500000000003],[489.34500000000003]],[[2403],[1900],[1750],[1726],[1650],[1630],[1473],[1400],[1400],[1346],[1342],[1250],[1248],[1104],[1100],[1099],[915],[875],[650]]]

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1. For more information on Industries, refer to Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC)

Educational qualifications

In August 2023, the highest median weekly earners were employees with a postgraduate degree ($1,893 per week), while the lowest were those without non-school qualifications ($988). The largest growth in median weekly earnings between August 2018 and August 2023, were for employees with a postgraduate degree (4.7% p.a.) and a bachelor degree (3.7% p.a.). The lowest growth was for employees with a graduate certificate or diploma (2.8% p.a.) or without a non-school qualification (3.2% p.a.).

Median weekly earnings in main job, by highest educational qualification
	2018 ($)	2023 ($)
Postgraduate degree	1,507	1,893
Graduate diploma/Graduate certificate	1,500	1,726
Bachelor degree	1,317	1,578
Advanced diploma/Diploma	1,106	1,300
Certificate III/IV	1,100	1,342
Certificate I/II and Other	1,000	1,174
No non-school qualifications	843	988

Median weekly earnings in main job, by highest educational qualification

["","2018","2023"]

[["Postgraduate degree","Graduate diploma\/Graduate certificate","Bachelor degree","Advanced diploma\/Diploma","Certificate III\/IV","Certificate I\/II and Other","No non-school qualifications"],[[1507],[1500],[1317],[1106],[1100],[999.76199999999994],[843.17700000000002]],[[1893],[1726],[1578],[1300],[1342],[1174],[988]]]

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1. For more information on educational attainment, refer to Australian Standard Classification of Education (ASCED)

Second jobs

The best source of data for people with more than one job can be found in Multiple job-holders, which provides the best estimate of people working in multiple jobs by balancing the information from multiple data sources.

In August 2023, there were 950,000 people who were multiple job holders - people who worked in more than one job during the same week. This was 6.7% of total employment.

680,000 worked in a second job where they received employee earnings (includes both employees and owner managers of incorporated enterprises).
610,000 received employee earnings in both their main and second job.

Of those who received employee earnings in both their main and second jobs:

median weekly earnings from their main job was $1,000 per week.
median weekly earnings from their second job was $300 per week.

In comparison, median weekly earnings for single job holders was $1,345 per week.

Of the 4.0 million people who earned less than $1000 per week in their main job, 9.4% (370,000) had a second job. For people who earned $1000 or more per week, 5.0% had a second job.

In August 2023, women were more likely to have a second job (7.9%) compared to men (5.7%). People aged 15-24 years were more likely to have a second job (7.9%) than people aged 25 years and over (6.5%).

Historical chart from 1965 to 2023

Multiple job holders - 1965 to 2023
	Men (%)	Women (%)	Total (%)
1965	3.9	1.4	3.1
1966	3.8	1.5	3.1
1967	3.7	1.3	2.9
1968
1969
1970
1971	4.4	2.1	3.7
1972
1973	4.0	2.2	3.4
1974
1975	4.1	2.3	3.5
1976
1977	3.2	2.3	2.9
1978
1979	3.2	2.8	3.1
1980
1981	3.0	2.7	2.9
1982
1983	2.9	2.7	2.8
1984	3.2	2.9	3.1
1985	3.2	3.2	3.2
1986	3.5	3.7	3.6
1987	3.7	3.9	3.8
1988	3.7	4.2	3.9
1989	4.1	4.8	4.4
1990	4.3	5.0	4.6
1991	4.1	5.1	4.5
1992	4.4	5.3	4.8
1993	4.3	5.3	4.7
1994	4.5	5.8	5.1
1995	4.9	6.3	5.5
1996	4.7	6.2	5.4
1997	4.6	5.9	5.2
1998	4.5	6.1	5.2
1999	4.7	6.4	5.4
2000	4.5	6.3	5.3
2001	4.9	6.6	5.6
2002	4.9	6.7	5.7
2003	4.8	6.7	5.6
2004	5.0	6.9	5.8
2005	4.9	6.7	5.7
2006	4.6	6.5	5.5
2007	4.8	6.6	5.6
2008	4.6	6.6	5.5
2009	4.7	6.6	5.6
2010	4.7	6.6	5.6
2011	4.5	6.4	5.4
2012	4.4	6.1	5.2
2013	4.5	6.3	5.3
2014	4.5	6.2	5.3
2015	4.5	6.7	5.5
2016	4.6	6.6	5.6
2017	4.6	6.4	5.4
2018	4.8	6.6	5.6
2019	4.9	6.8	5.8
2020	4.8	6.3	5.5
2021	5.1	7.0	6.0
2022	5.4	7.2	6.3
2023	5.5	7.6	6.5

Multiple job holders - 1965 to 2023

["","Men","Women","Total"]

[["1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021","2022","2023"],[[3.8999999999999999],[3.7999999999999998],[3.7000000000000002],[null],[null],[null],[4.4000000000000004],[null],[4],[null],[4.0999999999999996],[null],[3.2000000000000002],[null],[3.2000000000000002],[null],[3],[null],[2.8999999999999999],[3.2000000000000002],[3.2000000000000002],[3.5],[3.7000000000000002],[3.7000000000000002],[4.0999999999999996],[4.2999999999999998],[4.0999999999999996],[4.4000000000000004],[4.2999999999999998],[4.5],[4.9000000000000004],[4.7000000000000002],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5],[4.7000000000000002],[4.5],[4.9000000000000004],[4.9000000000000004],[4.7999999999999998],[5],[4.9000000000000004],[4.5999999999999996],[4.7999999999999998],[4.5999999999999996],[4.7000000000000002],[4.7000000000000002],[4.5],[4.4000000000000004],[4.5],[4.5],[4.5],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5999999999999996],[4.7999999999999998],[4.9000000000000004],[4.7999999999999998],[5.0999999999999996],[5.4000000000000004],[5.5]],[[1.3999999999999999],[1.5],[1.3],[null],[null],[null],[2.1000000000000001],[null],[2.2000000000000002],[null],[2.2999999999999998],[null],[2.2999999999999998],[null],[2.7999999999999998],[null],[2.7000000000000002],[null],[2.7000000000000002],[2.8999999999999999],[3.2000000000000002],[3.7000000000000002],[3.8999999999999999],[4.2000000000000002],[4.7999999999999998],[5],[5.0999999999999996],[5.2999999999999998],[5.2999999999999998],[5.7999999999999998],[6.2999999999999998],[6.2000000000000002],[5.9000000000000004],[6.0999999999999996],[6.4000000000000004],[6.2999999999999998],[6.5999999999999996],[6.7000000000000002],[6.7000000000000002],[6.9000000000000004],[6.7000000000000002],[6.5],[6.5999999999999996],[6.5999999999999996],[6.5999999999999996],[6.5999999999999996],[6.4000000000000004],[6.0999999999999996],[6.2999999999999998],[6.2000000000000002],[6.7000000000000002],[6.5999999999999996],[6.4000000000000004],[6.5999999999999996],[6.7999999999999998],[6.2999999999999998],[7],[7.2000000000000002],[7.5999999999999996]],[[3.1000000000000001],[3.1000000000000001],[2.8999999999999999],[null],[null],[null],[3.7000000000000002],[null],[3.3999999999999999],[null],[3.5],[null],[2.8999999999999999],[null],[3.1000000000000001],[null],[2.8999999999999999],[null],[2.7999999999999998],[3.1000000000000001],[3.2000000000000002],[3.6000000000000001],[3.7999999999999998],[3.8999999999999999],[4.4000000000000004],[4.5999999999999996],[4.5],[4.7999999999999998],[4.7000000000000002],[5.0999999999999996],[5.5],[5.4000000000000004],[5.2000000000000002],[5.2000000000000002],[5.4000000000000004],[5.2999999999999998],[5.5999999999999996],[5.7000000000000002],[5.5999999999999996],[5.7999999999999998],[5.7000000000000002],[5.5],[5.5999999999999996],[5.5],[5.5999999999999996],[5.5999999999999996],[5.4000000000000004],[5.2000000000000002],[5.2999999999999998],[5.2999999999999998],[5.5],[5.5999999999999996],[5.4000000000000004],[5.5999999999999996],[5.7999999999999998],[5.5],[6],[6.2999999999999998],[6.5]]]

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Sources:

1965-1983 - Multiple Jobholding (6216.0).
1984-2023 - Labour Force (6202.0) - calendar year average.

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