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Employee earnings

Latest release

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

Reference period
August 2025
Release date and time
12/12/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

In August 2025:

  • Median employee earnings in main job was $1,425 per week, up $26 (1.9%) since August 2024.
  • Median hourly earnings in main job was $42.90 per hour, up $2.90 since August 2024.

Upcoming changes to the Characteristics of Employment survey

As part of ABS plans to modernise the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (see Modernising the Labour Force Survey) there will be changes to the way the labour supplementary surveys, including Characteristics of Employment, are conducted. This will include changes to the timing of collection, the reference periods that data are published in respect of, the content collected, and the range and timing of outputs produced.

The key changes to the model used to collect the LFS and supplementary surveys include:

  • no longer collecting the LFS supplementary surveys in specific calendar months - currently collected in February (Participation, Jobs Search and Mobility), May (Education and Work), and August (Characteristics of Employment)
  • collecting a new redesigned labour supplementary survey on a monthly basis from respondents in their last (of eight) months in the LFS (the 'outgoing' rotation group)
  • no longer collecting additional LFS content in 'quarter months' (Feb, May, Aug and Dec) - with content currently collected quarterly moving to either the 'core' monthly LFS (e.g. industry and occupation) or the new labour supplementary survey

The changes will be implemented progressively across 2026. As a result:

  • August 2025 was the last time the Characteristics of Employment survey was conducted in its current form
  • the upcoming Participation, Job Search and Mobility survey, scheduled for February 2026, will be the last conduced in its current form
  • the 2025-26 Barriers and Incentives survey, which is collected in the Multi-Purpose Household Survey (MPHS), will also be the last conducted in its current form

A redesigned labour supplementary survey is expected to commence in the 2nd half of 2026. This survey will combine and integrate content currently collected in:

  • Characteristics of Employment
  • Participation, Job Search and Mobility
  • Barriers and Incentives (from MPHS)
  • Casual Experience (from MPHS)
  • the quarter month Labour Force Survey (that isn't moving to the monthly LFS)

Data from the new supplementary survey will be compiled and published on a calendar year basis. More information on the content and timing of the suite of outputs that will be published from the new supplementary survey will be provided in 2026, however we expect a similar range of data as published across the current suite of releases would continue to be available.

Statistics from the 2025 Characteristics of Employment survey are also published in Working arrangements.

Median weekly earnings in main job
Aug-25Aug-24Aug-20Aug-24 to Aug-25 (% change)
Employees
Males$1,600$1,578$1,3001.4%
Females$1,250$1,200$1,0004.2%
Persons$1,425$1,399$1,1501.9%
Full-time employees
Males$1,841$1,790$1,5002.8%
Females$1,631$1,598$1,3422.1%
Persons$1,741$1,700$1,4352.4%

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.  

Weekly earnings

In August 2025, median weekly earnings for employees in their main job was $1,425, an increase of $26 from the $1,399 recorded in August 2024. 

For men working full-time, the median weekly earnings rose $51 to $1,841 in August 2025, while for women working full-time the median weekly earnings rose $33 to $1,631.

Hourly earnings

In August 2025, the median hourly earnings for employees was $42.90, up from $40.00 in August 2024. For men, the median hourly earnings rose $2.90 to $44.60 in August 2025, while for women the median hourly earnings rose $2.70 to $41.70.

Median hourly earnings in main job
Aug-25Aug-24Aug-20Aug-24 to Aug-25 (% change)
Males$44.60$41.70$37.307.0%
Females$41.70$38.90$35.007.2%
Persons$42.90$40.00$36.007.3%

Distribution of earnings

In August 2025:

  • 25% of employees earned less than $900 per week in their main job (25th percentile).
  • 50% of employees earned less than $1,425 (50th percentile/median).
  • 75% of employees earned less than $2,127 (75th percentile).
  • 90% of employees earned less than $3,000 (90th percentile).
Distribution of weekly earnings in main job
Aug-25Aug-24Aug-20Aug-24 to Aug-25 (% change)
10th Percentile$450$445$4041.1%
25th Percentile$900$899$7500.1%
50th Percentile$1,425$1,399$1,1501.9%
75th Percentile$2,127$2,055$1,7363.5%
90th Percentile$3,000$3,040$2,500-1.3%

States and territories

The state or territory with the highest median weekly earnings in August 2025 was the Australian Capital Territory at $1,600 per week, followed by the Northern Territory at $1,510. The lowest were Tasmania and South Australia (both $1,300). 

Of the state capital cities, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth had the highest median weekly earnings ($1,500 per week), followed by Melbourne and Hobart (both with $1,400). 

Outside the capital cities, the highest median weekly earnings were in regional Western Australia ($1,400 per week), and the lowest was regional South Australia ($1,200).

Occupation

In August 2025, the occupation groups with highest median weekly earnings were Managers ($2,072 per week) and Professionals ($1,900). The lowest were Sales workers ($742) and Labourers ($940).

Professionals and Managers also had the highest hourly rates ($59.50 and $58.80), while Sales workers and Labourers had the lowest hourly rates ($30.80 and $32.00). 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.

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 2025 were:

  • Chief Executives, General Managers and Legislators - $3,223.
  • Specialist Managers - $2,310.
  • ICT Professionals - $2,300.

The sub-major groups with the lowest median weekly earnings in August 2025 were:

  • Food Preparation Assistants - $448.
  • Hospitality Workers - $556.
  • Sales Support Workers - $661.
  • Sales Assistants and Salespersons - $631.

Between 2020 and 2025, the sub-major group with the highest average growth in median weekly earnings was Arts and Media Professionals (7.9% p.a.). 

Industry

In August 2025, the industries with the highest median weekly earnings were:

  • Mining ($2,761 per week, up from $2,594 in August 2024).
  • Electricity, gas, water and waste services ($2,000, up from $1,897).
  • Financial and insurance services ($2,000, up from $1,750).

The industries with the lowest median weekly earnings were:

  • Accommodation and food services ($700 per week, up from $650 in August 2024).
  • Retail trade ($900, up from $895).
  • Arts and recreation services ($1,150, up from $1,000).

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

Educational qualifications

In August 2025, median weekly earners were highest amongst employees with a postgraduate degree ($2,000 per week), and were lowest for those without non-school qualifications ($1,000).

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

Data downloads

Employee earnings

Data files

Microdata and TableBuilder

August 2025 Characteristics of Employment data will be released in Tablebuilder and microdata in ABS DataLab (as a supplementary file for the Longitudinal Labour Force (LLFS) microdata) on 18 December 2025. For more information, refer to Microdata and TableBuilder: Characteristics of Employment.

Previous catalogue number

This release uses ABS catalogue number 6337.0.

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