Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

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Payroll jobs and wages estimates, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period
Week ending 8 May 2021
Released
25/05/2021

Key statistics

Between the weeks ending 24 April and 8 May 2021:

  • Payroll jobs decreased 0.5%
  • Total wages paid decreased 1.3%

The next issue of Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia will be released on Wednesday 9 June.

National

    In the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021:

    • Payroll jobs decreased by 0.5%, compared to an increase of 0.2% in the previous fortnight
    • Total wages paid decreased by 1.3%, compared to a decrease of 0.2% in the previous fortnight
    Table 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs and wages
    In the fortnight since 24 Apr 2021In the month since 10 Apr 2021In the year since 9 May 2020
    Payroll jobs-0.5%-0.4%8.7%
    Total wages-1.3%-1.5%8.9%

    Estimates of changes throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded index values. They may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded index values.

    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions

    State and territory

    All geographical areas in this release represent the residential address of the jobholder. 

    The largest changes in states and territories in the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs:

    • Victoria decreased by 0.8%
    • Queensland decreased by 0.7%

    Total wages:

    • Victoria decreased by 2.0%
    • Queensland decreased by 1.7%
    Table 2 - Percentage change by states and territories
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021
    New South Wales-0.5%1.2%-1.3%1.2%
    Victoria-0.8%0.8%-2.0%3.2%
    Queensland-0.7%0.7%-1.7%1.1%
    South Australia0.2%3.6%-0.4%4.0%
    Western Australia-0.1%4.0%0.6%0.6%
    Tasmania-0.2%0.9%-0.8%0.9%
    Northern Territory-0.4%4.4%0.0%5.8%
    Australian Capital Territory0.0%1.6%0.2%4.2%
    Australia-0.5%1.5%-1.3%1.9%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
     

    Map 1 - Percentage change in payroll jobs, in the fortnight to 8 May 2021

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    Percentage change in payroll jobs in the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021, by states and territories:
    - New South Wales (-0.5%)
    - Victoria (-0.8%)
    - Queensland (-0.7%)
    - South Australia (0.2%)
    - Western Australia (-0.1%)
    - Tasmania (-0.2%)
    - Northern Territory (-0.4%)
    - Australian Capital Territory (0.0%)

    Sub-state - payroll jobs

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions, Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Statistical Area 3 (SA3), are presented as index values through to the week ending 24 April 2021 in Table 5 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases. 

    For more information on the geography used in this release, see the Glossary.

    Sex

    In the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Worked by males decreased by 0.8%
    • Worked by females decreased by 0.4%

    Total wages: 

    • Payments to males decreased by 1.8%
    • Payments to females decreased by 0.5%
    Table 3 - Percentage change by sex
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021
    Males-0.8%-0.8%-1.8%-0.6%
    Females-0.4%1.1%-0.5%4.6%
    All persons-0.5%1.5%-1.3%1.9%


    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions


     

    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions

    Age group

    The largest changes in age groups in the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Worked by people aged 20-29 decreased by 1.1%
    • Worked by people aged 70 years and over increased by 0.8%

    Total wages: 

    • Payments to people aged 15-19 decreased by 4.1%
    • Payments to people aged 20-29, 39-39 and 40-49 all decreased by 1.4%
    Table 4 - Percentage change by age group
     Payroll jobs Total wages 
     Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021
    15-19 year olds-0.7%0.5%-4.1%3.4%
    20-29 year olds-1.1%-0.5%-1.4%2.7%
    30-39 year olds-0.8%1.5%-1.4%1.9%
    40-49 year olds-0.4%0.9%-1.4%-0.5%
    50-59 year olds-0.1%2.2%-1.1%1.7%
    60-69 year olds0.7%6.1%0.1%7.6%
    Aged 70 years and over0.8%5.7%0.0%10.5%
    All persons-0.5%1.5%-1.3%1.9%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.

    5 year age groups

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups (presented as index values) up to the week ending 8 May 2021 are available in Table 8 of the Data downloads. 

    Industry

    The largest changes in industries in the fortnight up to the week ending 8 May 2021 were:

    Payroll jobs: 

    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 4.3%
    • Education and training increased by 3.5%

    Total wages: 

    • Agriculture, forestry and fishing decreased by 5.4%
    • Information media and telecommunications decreased by 4.3%
    Table 5 - Percentage change by industry
     Payroll jobs Total wages (b) 
     Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021 (a)Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021
    Agriculture, forestry and fishing-4.3%-3.6%-5.4%1.6%
    Mining0.0%0.4%-1.6%-18.5%
    Manufacturing-1.2%-3.2%-2.2%-4.3%
    Electricity, gas, water and waste services0.8%2.7%-0.9%-3.5%
    Construction-0.4%-1.2%-1.1%-0.7%
    Wholesale trade-1.4%-3.1%-1.7%-4.3%
    Retail trade1.1%-1.1%-1.1%0.1%
    Accommodation and food services-1.0%-10.7%-3.2%-7.2%
    Transport, postal and warehousing-0.4%-7.5%-0.6%-6.1%
    Information media and telecommunications-1.5%-8.6%-4.3%-3.1%
    Financial and insurance services-0.2%7.2%-2.8%-2.2%
    Rental, hiring and real estate services-1.3%-1.6%-3.4%2.8%
    Professional, scientific and technical services-2.9%-1.1%-2.6%1.2%
    Administrative and support services-1.0%2.3%-0.7%7.3%
    Public administration and safety2.1%11.0%2.6%9.7%
    Education and training3.5%-0.1%3.2%2.4%
    Health care and social assistance-2.0%3.9%-1.6%7.0%
    Arts and recreation services-1.2%-2.3%-1.7%-0.4%
    Other services-1.5%-0.8%-3.1%5.5%
    All industries-0.5%1.5%-1.3%1.9%

    a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
    b. Wages estimates in some industries may include seasonal bonuses. For more information, refer to the seasonality section of Data limitations and revisions.

    Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs

    Estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision were added to this release on Wednesday 26 May 2021. 

    Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision (presented as index values) up to the week ending 8 May 2021 are available in Table 6 of the Data downloads. These estimates are only updated in alternate releases. 

    For more information on the industry classifications used in this release, see the Glossary

    Employment size

    Recent movements in payroll jobs by employment size are subject to higher than usual levels of revision (over a longer period) than other estimates. This is particularly the case for small employers (with under 20 employees). Further information is presented on the impact of revisions on the small employers index, in Variation in revisions in Data limitations and revisions.

    Table 6 - Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size (a)(b)
    Change between 24 Apr 2021 and 8 May 2021Change between 14 Mar 2020 and 8 May 2021
    Under 20 employees-3.3%-1.4%
    20-199 employees-0.6%-1.1%
    200 employees and over1.0%0.8%
    All businesses-0.5%1.5%
    1. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions.
    2. Indexes for employment size groups can move independently from All businesses indexes due to the inclusion of records with 'unknown' employment size in the calculation of All businesses. For more information see Data components, totals and index calculation in Data limitations and revisions.

    Data downloads

    Table 1: National spotlight

    Table 2: State and territory spotlight

    Table 3: Industry spotlight

    Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

    Table 5: Sub-state - Payroll jobs indexes

    These estimates are updated in alternate releases. They were last updated on Wednesday 12 May 2021 and will be next updated on Wednesday 9 June 2021. 

    Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

    These estimates are updated in alternate releases. They were updated to the week ending 8 May 2021 on Wednesday 26 May 2021.

    Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

    Contains estimates of payroll jobs by employment size, including state and territory dimension. 

    Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

    Contains estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups, available in this release since 3 March 2021. 

    All data cubes

    Updated to include Table 6 as released on Wednesday 26 May 2021

    Changes in this release

    A new article on the Distribution of jobholder and employer characteristics has been included, to aid in interpretability of payroll jobs and wages statistics. 

    Post-release changes

    26 May 2021: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes (Table 6 of the Data downloads) were updated to the week ending 8 May 2021.

     

    Previous articles

    Previously published articles and information of interest are linked below:

    Previous catalogue number

    This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

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