Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

This is not the latest release View the latest release

Experimental estimates of employee earnings, sourced from Single Touch Payroll (STP) data

Reference period

December 2024

Released

19/02/2025

View all releases

Release date and time

19/02/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

In December 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers:

decreased to $101,955 million
decreased by 0.7% or $687 million in the month from November 2024
increased by 5.7% or $5,539 million in the year from December 2023

As a measure of aggregate earnings, estimates presented in this release include compositional changes in the labour market, which are described in more detail in Factors affecting interpretation.

State and territory by industry division estimates

Data download tables now include estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by state and territory by industry division.

National

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, month key statistics
	Jul-24	Aug-24	Sep-24	Oct-24	Nov-24	Dec-24
Month change (%)	0.4	1.6	3.8	-3.1	2.4	-0.7
Annual change (%)	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.7
Total wages and salaries ($m)	97,969	99,582	103,369	100,215	102,642	101,955

Estimates are presented as an original series with calendar-adjustment, to account for the differing number of days in each month, as seasonally adjusted estimates are not yet available.

Estimates of change throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded $ million values. They may differ from, though are more accurate than change calculated from rounded values.

Total wages and salaries paid by employers (a)
	2022-23 ($m)	2023-24 ($m)	2024-25 ($m)
Jul	86,020	92,160	97,969
Aug	87,612	94,086	99,582
Sep	90,842	97,544	103,369
Oct	87,810	94,661	100,215
Nov	90,033	97,174	102,642
Dec	89,896	96,416	101,955
Jan	86,562	92,755
Feb	91,774	97,059
Mar	92,665	99,177
Apr	91,435	97,713
May	91,174	96,968
Jun	92,001	97,539

Total wages and salaries paid by employers (a)

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[86020],[87612],[90842],[87810],[90033],[89896],[86562],[91774],[92665],[91435],[91174],[92001]],[[92160],[94086],[97544],[94661],[97174],[96416],[92755],[97059],[99177],[97713],[96968],[97539]],[[97969],[99582],[103369],[100215],[102642],[101955],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"$million","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"($m)","table_units":"($m)","axis_min":"85000","axis_max":"105000","tick_interval":null,"precision":"0","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day in 2024 alters the seasonal change usually seen in February and March. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers (a)
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)	2024-25 (%)
Jul	na	0.2	0.4
Aug	1.9	2.1	1.6
Sep	3.7	3.7	3.8
Oct	-3.3	-3.0	-3.1
Nov	2.5	2.7	2.4
Dec	-0.2	-0.8	-0.7
Jan	-3.7	-3.8
Feb	6.0	4.6
Mar	1.0	2.2
Apr	-1.3	-1.5
May	-0.3	-0.8
Jun	0.9	0.6

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers (a)

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[null],[1.9],[3.7],[-3.3],[2.5],[-0.2],[-3.7],[6],[1],[-1.3],[-0.3],[0.9]],[[0.2],[2.1],[3.7],[-3],[2.7],[-0.8],[-3.8],[4.6],[2.2],[-1.5],[-0.8],[0.6]],[[0.4],[1.6],[3.8],[-3.1],[2.4],[-0.7],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-4","axis_max":"7","tick_interval":"1","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. The leap year day in 2024 alters the seasonal change usually seen in February and March. For more information see the leap year effect section within Factors affecting interpretation.

Quarter change

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, quarter key statistics
	Dec Qtr 23	Mar Qtr 24	Jun Qtr 24	Sep Qtr 24	Dec Qtr 24
Quarter change (%)	1.6	0.3	1.1	3.0	1.3
Annual quarter change (%)	7.7	6.6	6.4	6.0	5.7
Total wages and salaries ($m)	288,251	288,991	292,221	300,920	304,812

Quarter change in total wages and salaries paid by employers
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)	2024-25 (%)
Sep Qtr	na	3.3	3.0
Dec Qtr	1.2	1.6	1.3
Mar Qtr	1.2	0.3
Jun Qtr	1.3	1.1

State and territory

In December 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers decreased in 7 of 8 states and territories from November 2024.

Victoria saw the largest level decrease of $259m (-1.0%)
Northern Territory saw the largest proportional decrease of 2.0% (-$21m)
Tasmania saw the only increase of 2.0% or +$35m

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Dec-22 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
New South Wales	0.2	0.0	-0.1
Victoria	0.8	-0.7	-1.0
Queensland	-0.9	-1.7	-1.2
South Australia	0.1	-1.2	-0.6
Western Australia	-2.1	-1.1	-0.9
Tasmania	1.6	0.9	2.0
Northern Territory	-1.2	-2.4	-2.0
Australian Capital Territory	-0.9	-2.6	-1.3

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory

[" ","Dec-22","Dec-23","Dec-24"]

[["New South Wales             ","Victoria                    ","Queensland                  ","South Australia             ","Western Australia           ","Tasmania                    ","Northern Territory          ","Australian Capital Territory"],[[0.2],[0.8],[-0.9],[0.1],[-2.1],[1.6],[-1.2],[-0.9]],[[0],[-0.7],[-1.7],[-1.2],[-1.1],[0.9],[-2.4],[-2.6]],[[-0.1],[-1],[-1.2],[-0.6],[-0.9],[2],[-2],[-1.3]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-3","axis_max":"3","tick_interval":"1","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Month change, November

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Nov-22 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Nov-24 (%)
New South Wales	2.7	2.6	3.2
Victoria	2.4	2.8	2.9
Queensland	2.8	3.0	1.6
South Australia	1.8	2.7	1.6
Western Australia	2.9	2.9	1.6
Tasmania	1.5	2.6	1.5
Northern Territory	0.9	1.5	1.2
Australian Capital Territory	1.7	-1.2	0.8

Month change, October

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Oct-22 (%)	Oct-23 (%)	Oct-24 (%)
New South Wales	-4.0	-3.7	-3.8
Victoria	-3.0	-2.5	-3.3
Queensland	-3.5	-2.7	-2.7
South Australia	-2.1	-3.0	-2.3
Western Australia	-3.6	-3.8	-2.5
Tasmania	-1.7	-1.4	-1.1
Northern Territory	-2.3	-2.9	-0.1
Australian Capital Territory	-0.8	2.8	-1.3

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
New South Wales	-0.2	1.6	3.9	-3.8	3.2	-0.1
Victoria	0.1	1.8	4.3	-3.3	2.9	-1.0
Queensland	1.4	1.3	4.0	-2.7	1.6	-1.2
South Australia	1.1	1.6	3.3	-2.3	1.6	-0.6
Western Australia	0.9	2.0	3.7	-2.5	1.6	-0.9
Tasmania	0.7	1.1	2.7	-1.1	1.5	2.0
Northern Territory	0.8	5.2	-1.6	-0.1	1.2	-2.0
Australian Capital Territory	1.3	1.2	1.7	-1.3	0.8	-1.3
Australia	0.4	1.6	3.8	-3.1	2.4	-0.7

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
New South Wales	5.7	5.1	4.9	4.9	5.5	5.4
Victoria	4.6	5.1	5.8	4.9	5.0	4.7
Queensland	8.5	6.7	7.7	7.8	6.3	6.8
South Australia	6.1	5.8	5.3	6.1	4.9	5.6
Western Australia	7.6	7.6	6.7	8.2	6.9	7.1
Tasmania	6.8	5.1	5.5	5.8	4.6	5.9
Northern Territory	4.9	6.0	3.6	6.6	6.4	6.8
Australian Capital Territory	8.6	8.9	7.3	3.1	5.1	6.5
Australia	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.7

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)	Oct-24 ($m)	Nov-24 ($m)	Dec-24 ($m)
New South Wales	32,086	32,598	33,858	32,587	33,641	33,608
Victoria	24,311	24,748	25,816	24,962	25,684	25,424
Queensland	18,814	19,054	19,809	19,279	19,586	19,356
South Australia	5,675	5,767	5,955	5,816	5,908	5,874
Western Australia	11,599	11,826	12,267	11,963	12,158	12,050
Tasmania	1,648	1,667	1,711	1,692	1,717	1,752
Northern Territory	999	1,051	1,034	1,034	1,046	1,026
Australian Capital Territory	2,836	2,871	2,919	2,881	2,903	2,865
Australia	97,969	99,582	103,369	100,215	102,642	101,955

Industry

In December 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers decreased in 12 of 19 industries from November 2024.

Administrative and support services saw the largest decrease of 6.5% or -$398m
Retail trade saw the largest increase of 2.1% or +$128m

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Dec-22 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Administrative and support services	-5.9	-6.7	-6.5
Construction	-3.6	-3.4	-3.8
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1.8	-3.6	-3.4
Information media and telecommunications	-2.3	-3.6	-3.3
Education and training	-1.9	-2.0	-1.3
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.9	-0.4	-1.1
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.0	0.5	-0.8
Other services	-0.6	-0.7	-0.7
Manufacturing	1.1	-0.1	-0.2
Wholesale trade	0.2	0.2	-0.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-0.9	0.0	-0.2
Health care and social assistance	1.8	-0.2	-0.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.8	1.9	0.9
Arts and recreation services	1.3	0.5	0.9
Mining	0.0	2.1	1.3
Public administration and safety	0.0	-1.2	1.5
Accommodation and food services	1.1	1.1	1.6
Financial and insurance services	5.0	1.8	2.0
Retail trade	2.2	1.9	2.1

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)

["","Dec-22","Dec-23","Dec-24"]

[["Administrative and support services","Construction","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              ","Information media and telecommunications","Education and training","Professional, scientific and technical services","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Other services","Manufacturing","Wholesale trade","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Health care and social assistance","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     ","Arts and recreation services","Mining","Public administration and safety","Accommodation and food services","Financial and insurance services","Retail trade"],[[-5.9],[-3.6],[1.8],[-2.3],[-1.9],[-0.9],[1],[-0.6],[1.1],[0.2],[-0.9],[1.8],[0.8],[1.3],[0],[0],[1.1],[5],[2.2]],[[-6.7],[-3.4],[-3.6],[-3.6],[-2],[-0.4],[0.5],[-0.7],[-0.1],[0.2],[0],[-0.2],[1.9],[0.5],[2.1],[-1.2],[1.1],[1.8],[1.9]],[[-6.5],[-3.8],[-3.4],[-3.3],[-1.3],[-1.1],[-0.8],[-0.7],[-0.2],[-0.2],[-0.2],[-0.2],[0.9],[0.9],[1.3],[1.5],[1.6],[2],[2.1]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-8","axis_max":"6","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Industries are ranked by ascending month change in December 2024.

Month change, November

In November 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers increased in 18 of 19 industries from October 2024.

Education and training saw the largest increase of 6.3% or +$491m
Electricity, gas, water and waste services saw the only decrease of 1.1% or -$17m

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Nov-22 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Nov-24 (%)
Education and training	7.6	7.9	6.3
Financial and insurance services	3.7	6.0	5.0
Information media and telecommunications	4.6	4.2	4.9
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	6.7	3.7	3.9
Retail trade	2.8	2.9	3.0
Health care and social assistance	-0.4	1.4	2.3
Accommodation and food services	2.7	1.5	2.1
Administrative and support services	2.8	1.7	2.1
Manufacturing	1.3	2.6	2.0
Wholesale trade	2.3	2.9	2.0
Professional, scientific and technical services	2.8	2.4	2.0
Public administration and safety	2.1	1.9	1.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.2	1.9	1.7
Other services	3.0	2.1	1.4
Construction	3.2	2.1	1.2
Arts and recreation services	3.6	1.4	1.2
Mining	0.8	0.2	1.1
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.4	1.5	0.1
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-1.3	-0.9	-1.1

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)

[" ","Nov-22","Nov-23","Nov-24"]

[["Education and training                         ","Financial and insurance services               ","Information media and telecommunications       ","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              ","Retail trade                                   ","Health care and social assistance              ","Accommodation and food services                ","Administrative and support services            ","Manufacturing                                  ","Wholesale trade                                ","Professional, scientific and technical services","Public administration and safety               ","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Other services                                 ","Construction                                   ","Arts and recreation services                   ","Mining                                         ","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     "],[[7.6],[3.7],[4.6],[6.7],[2.8],[-0.4],[2.7],[2.8],[1.3],[2.3],[2.8],[2.1],[2.2],[3],[3.2],[3.6],[0.8],[1.4],[-1.3]],[[7.9],[6],[4.2],[3.7],[2.9],[1.4],[1.5],[1.7],[2.6],[2.9],[2.4],[1.9],[1.9],[2.1],[2.1],[1.4],[0.2],[1.5],[-0.9]],[[6.3],[5],[4.9],[3.9],[3],[2.3],[2.1],[2.1],[2],[2],[2],[1.9],[1.7],[1.4],[1.2],[1.2],[1.1],[0.1],[-1.1]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-2","axis_max":"8","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Industries are ranked by descending month change in November 2024.

Month Change, October

In October 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers decreased in 17 of 19 industries from September 2024.

Information media and telecommunications saw the largest proportional decrease of 18.8% (-$464m)
Financial and insurance services saw the largest level decrease of $799m (-12.5%)

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Oct-22 (%)	Oct-23 (%)	Oct-24 (%)
Information media and telecommunications	-16.8	-18.1	-18.8
Mining	-13.3	-12.1	-12.9
Financial and insurance services	-12.6	-13.4	-12.5
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-4.7	-7.3	-6.9
Retail trade	-5.4	-5.3	-6.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-4.6	-2.8	-3.9
Manufacturing	-1.9	-2.1	-2.9
Wholesale trade	-1.0	-1.3	-2.2
Professional, scientific and technical services	-3.9	-2.9	-2.1
Public administration and safety	1.1	1.9	-1.6
Administrative and support services	-1.1	-0.5	-1.3
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.9	-4.2	-1.1
Accommodation and food services	-2.3	-2.8	-1.0
Other services	-2.4	-1.3	-0.8
Arts and recreation services	-2.6	-0.3	-0.5
Education and training	-0.7	-0.2	-0.4
Construction	-2.5	-0.5	-0.1
Health care and social assistance	0.0	0.2	0.1
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-2.4	2.5	4.2

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)

["","Oct-22","Oct-23","Oct-24"]

[["Information media and telecommunications","Mining","Financial and insurance services","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     ","Retail trade","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Manufacturing","Wholesale trade","Professional, scientific and technical services","Public administration and safety","Administrative and support services","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Accommodation and food services","Other services","Arts and recreation services","Education and training","Construction","Health care and social assistance","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              "],[[-16.8],[-13.3],[-12.6],[-4.7],[-5.4],[-4.6],[-1.9],[-1],[-3.9],[1.1],[-1.1],[-1.9],[-2.3],[-2.4],[-2.6],[-0.7],[-2.5],[0],[-2.4]],[[-18.1],[-12.1],[-13.4],[-7.3],[-5.3],[-2.8],[-2.1],[-1.3],[-2.9],[1.9],[-0.5],[-4.2],[-2.8],[-1.3],[-0.3],[-0.2],[-0.5],[0.2],[2.5]],[[-18.8],[-12.9],[-12.5],[-6.9],[-6.3],[-3.9],[-2.9],[-2.2],[-2.1],[-1.6],[-1.3],[-1.1],[-1],[-0.8],[-0.5],[-0.4],[-0.1],[0.1],[4.2]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-20","axis_max":"6","tick_interval":"2","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

a. Industries are ranked by ascending month change in October 2024.

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-1.9	2.8	3.3	4.2	3.9	-3.4
Mining	0.1	6.2	8.1	-12.9	1.1	1.3
Manufacturing	0.2	1.1	3.6	-2.9	2.0	-0.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	6.5	-0.6	10.0	-6.9	-1.1	0.9
Construction	0.7	0.5	2.2	-0.1	1.2	-3.8
Wholesale trade	0.4	0.1	1.9	-2.2	2.0	-0.2
Retail trade	0.6	0.7	8.9	-6.3	3.0	2.1
Accommodation and food services	2.2	1.8	2.0	-1.0	2.1	1.6
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.4	1.7	5.5	-1.1	0.1	-0.8
Information media and telecommunications	-2.4	7.0	14.2	-18.8	4.9	-3.3
Financial and insurance services	0.5	2.3	14.2	-12.5	5.0	2.0
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.4	1.5	4.0	-3.9	1.7	-0.2
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.4	1.2	1.8	-2.1	2.0	-1.1
Administrative and support services	1.2	-0.2	2.0	-1.3	2.1	-6.5
Public administration and safety	1.6	1.9	2.6	-1.6	1.9	1.5
Education and training	-1.4	4.4	0.2	-0.4	6.3	-1.3
Health care and social assistance	0.4	1.0	1.3	0.1	2.3	-0.2
Arts and recreation services	0.7	2.1	3.9	-0.5	1.2	0.9
Other services	1.0	1.4	1.5	-0.8	1.4	-0.7
All industries	0.4	1.6	3.8	-3.1	2.4	-0.7

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.6	2.4	3.6	5.3	5.6	5.8
Mining	6.6	8.0	4.1	3.3	4.2	3.5
Manufacturing	6.0	5.6	5.4	4.6	4.0	3.8
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	17.9	13.6	12.3	12.9	12.7	11.7
Construction	7.4	6.7	7.2	7.6	6.8	6.3
Wholesale trade	5.7	5.3	5.5	4.6	3.7	3.4
Retail trade	5.5	4.1	5.6	4.5	4.6	4.9
Accommodation and food services	2.3	2.4	1.9	3.7	4.4	4.8
Transport, postal and warehousing	6.0	6.3	4.6	7.9	6.4	5.0
Information media and telecommunications	4.9	6.4	4.4	3.5	4.2	4.5
Financial and insurance services	4.0	4.1	4.0	5.1	4.1	4.4
Rental, hiring and real estate services	4.9	4.3	4.9	3.7	3.6	3.3
Professional, scientific and technical services	3.3	3.2	3.2	4.2	3.8	3.0
Administrative and support services	3.0	2.5	3.0	2.2	2.7	2.8
Public administration and safety	8.6	9.2	11.3	7.6	7.6	10.5
Education and training	7.6	5.0	7.5	7.3	5.7	6.4
Health care and social assistance	9.5	8.8	8.1	7.9	8.9	8.9
Arts and recreation services	6.1	6.0	6.1	5.8	5.7	6.0
Other services	7.6	7.4	7.2	7.7	7.1	7.0
All industries	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.7

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry(a)
	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)	Oct-24 ($m)	Nov-24 ($m)	Dec-24 ($m)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,051	1,081	1,117	1,164	1,209	1,168
Mining	3,345	3,551	3,840	3,346	3,384	3,429
Manufacturing	6,185	6,255	6,483	6,296	6,422	6,407
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,576	1,567	1,724	1,606	1,589	1,604
Construction	8,519	8,564	8,754	8,745	8,852	8,512
Wholesale trade	4,581	4,585	4,670	4,568	4,662	4,653
Retail trade	5,685	5,726	6,235	5,844	6,021	6,150
Accommodation and food services	3,474	3,536	3,607	3,570	3,645	3,702
Transport, postal and warehousing	4,041	4,109	4,333	4,285	4,290	4,256
Information media and telecommunications	2,022	2,163	2,470	2,006	2,104	2,034
Financial and insurance services	5,451	5,579	6,371	5,572	5,851	5,970
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2,030	2,060	2,143	2,060	2,095	2,091
Professional, scientific and technical services	10,731	10,864	11,062	10,834	11,047	10,924
Administrative and support services	5,945	5,930	6,046	5,969	6,097	5,699
Public administration and safety	7,915	8,062	8,271	8,142	8,295	8,418
Education and training	7,421	7,744	7,760	7,733	8,223	8,116
Health care and social assistance	14,112	14,257	14,448	14,468	14,794	14,770
Arts and recreation services	1,079	1,102	1,145	1,139	1,153	1,163
Other services	2,806	2,847	2,890	2,868	2,909	2,888
All industries	97,969	99,582	103,369	100,215	102,642	101,955

Employment size

In December 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers decreased in all employment size groups from November 2024.

Businesses with 20-199 employees saw the largest decrease of 1.5% or -$395m

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Dec-22 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
0-19 employees	-0.4	-0.8	-0.9
20-199 employees	-1.3	-1.4	-1.5
200 employees and over	0.6	-0.5	-0.2

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size

[" ","Dec-22","Dec-23","Dec-24"]

[["0-19 employees        ","20-199 employees      ","200 employees and over"],[[-0.4],[-1.3],[0.6]],[[-0.8],[-1.4],[-0.5]],[[-0.9],[-1.5],[-0.2]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-2","axis_max":"1","tick_interval":"1","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Month change, November

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Nov-22 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Nov-24 (%)
0-19 employees	3.1	2.2	2.0
20-199 employees	2.8	2.7	1.8
200 employees and over	2.2	2.8	2.9

Month change, October

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Oct-22 (%)	Oct-23 (%)	Oct-24 (%)
0-19 employees	-8.6	-5.2	-3.0
20-199 employees	-0.2	-0.5	-1.0
200 employees and over	-2.6	-3.2	-4.1

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
0-19 employees	-1.0	1.1	1.4	-3.0	2.0	-0.9
20-199 employees	1.5	1.2	1.9	-1.0	1.8	-1.5
200 employees and over	0.5	2.1	5.7	-4.1	2.9	-0.2
All sizes	0.4	1.6	3.8	-3.1	2.4	-0.7

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
0-19 employees	2.4	1.9	1.8	4.2	4.0	4.0
20-199 employees	6.3	6.1	6.2	5.7	4.8	4.7
200 employees and over	8.0	7.4	7.6	6.6	6.7	7.0
All sizes	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.7

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)	Oct-24 ($m)	Nov-24 ($m)	Dec-24 ($m)
0-19 employees	21,249	21,473	21,784	21,131	21,553	21,369
20-199 employees	25,761	26,076	26,568	26,307	26,781	26,387
200 employees and over	50,959	52,033	55,018	52,777	54,308	54,199
All sizes	97,969	99,582	103,369	100,215	102,642	101,955

Sector

In December 2024, total wages and salaries paid by employers rose in the Public sector and fell in the Private sector from November 2024.

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Dec-22 (%)	Dec-23 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Private	-0.2	-0.8	-1.0
Public	0.1	-0.5	0.5

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector

[" ","Dec-22","Dec-23","Dec-24"]

[["Private","Public "],[[-0.2],[0.1]],[[-0.8],[-0.5]],[[-1],[0.5]]]

[]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"","table_units":"","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"-1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":"-2","axis_max":"1","tick_interval":"1","precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Month change, November

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Nov-22 (%)	Nov-23 (%)	Nov-24 (%)
Private	2.6	2.5	2.1
Public	2.4	3.2	3.7

Month change, October

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Oct-22 (%)	Oct-23 (%)	Oct-24 (%)
Private	-4.2	-3.7	-3.6
Public	0.4	0.3	-0.8

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Private	0.0	1.5	4.3	-3.6	2.1	-1.0
Public	2.2	2.1	1.9	-0.8	3.7	0.5
All sectors	0.4	1.6	3.8	-3.1	2.4	-0.7

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Jul-24 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Oct-24 (%)	Nov-24 (%)	Dec-24 (%)
Private	5.6	5.3	5.4	5.5	5.1	5.0
Public	9.3	8.0	8.3	7.1	7.5	8.6
All sectors	6.3	5.8	6.0	5.9	5.6	5.7

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Jul-24 ($m)	Aug-24 ($m)	Sep-24 ($m)	Oct-24 ($m)	Nov-24 ($m)	Dec-24 ($m)
Private	77,879	79,070	82,464	79,481	81,152	80,361
Public	20,090	20,512	20,905	20,733	21,491	21,594
All sectors	97,969	99,582	103,369	100,215	102,642	101,955

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

From this release, includes estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by state and territory by industry division.

Data files

Download xlsx [332.63 KB]

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

From this release, includes estimates of total wages and salaries paid by employers by state and territory by industry division.

Data files

Download xlsx [225.55 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [416.83 KB]

Methodology

Scope

This release presents experimental estimates of wages and salaries paid by active employing businesses and organisations to their employees in the Australian economy.

Geography

Data is available for:

Australia total
States and territories

Source

Australian Tax Office (ATO) Single Touch Payroll (STP) administrative data combined with ABS Business Register data.

Collection method

The ATO provides selected employer and employee level data from the STP system to the ABS. These data are combined with employer population and characteristics data from quarterly ABS Business Register snapshots.

Concepts, sources and methods

Wages and salaries are gross values (prior to taxation and deductions) and include wages, salary payments and allowances paid through Australian payrolls.

Employee superannuation and severance and termination payments are excluded.

History of changes

Refined imputation method included in 21 May 2024 release.

View full methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

We can provide customised data to meet your requirements

Request a quote

Microdata and TableBuilder

We can provide access to detailed, customisable data on selected topics

View available Microdata and TableBuilder

APA

Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

APA

Key statistics

State and territory by industry division estimates

National

Quarter change

State and territory

Month change, November

Month change, October

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Industry

Month change, November

Month Change, October

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Employment size

Month change, November

Month change, October

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Sector

Month change, November

Month change, October

Month change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Annual change, Jul-24 to Dec-24

Total wages and salaries ($m), Jul-24 to Dec-24

Data downloads

Table 1. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, percentage change

Table 2. Total wages and salaries paid by employers, level

All data cubes

Methodology

Scope

Geography

Source

Collection method

Concepts, sources and methods

History of changes

Media releases

Annual growth in total wages slows in December 2024

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder