Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

Latest release

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

Reference period

September 2025

Released

19/11/2025

Release date and time

19/11/2025 11:30am AEDT

Key statistics

In September 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers:

increased to $108,757 million
increased by 3.6% or $3,808 million in the month from August 2025
increased by 5.3% or $5,446 million in the year from September 2024

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.

National

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, month key statistics
	Apr-25	May-25	Jun-25	Jul-25	Aug-25	Sep-25
Month change (%)	-1.4	-0.8	1.3	0.1	1.4	3.6
Annual change (%)	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.3
Total wages and salaries ($m)	102,959	102,084	103,439	103,535	104,949	108,757

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 ($m)	2025-26 ($m)
Jul	85,807	91,985	98,058	103,535
Aug	87,286	93,813	99,472	104,949
Sep	90,539	97,347	103,311	108,757
Oct	87,607	94,440	99,853
Nov	89,768	96,991	102,135
Dec	89,610	96,154	101,380
Jan	86,291	92,464	97,908
Feb	91,464	96,840	103,432
Mar	92,474	99,016	104,406
Apr	91,208	97,616	102,959
May	90,978	96,840	102,084
Jun	92,583	98,185	103,439

Total wages and salaries paid by employers (a)

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25","2025-26"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[85807],[87286],[90539],[87607],[89768],[89610],[86291],[91464],[92474],[91208],[90978],[92583]],[[91985],[93813],[97347],[94440],[96991],[96154],[92464],[96840],[99016],[97616],[96840],[98185]],[[98058],[99472],[103311],[99853],[102135],[101380],[97908],[103432],[104406],[102959],[102084],[103439]],[[103535],[104949],[108757],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

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a. The leap year day in February 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 (%)	2025-26 (%)
Jul	na	-0.6	-0.1	0.1
Aug	1.7	2.0	1.4	1.4
Sep	3.7	3.8	3.9	3.6
Oct	-3.2	-3.0	-3.3
Nov	2.5	2.7	2.3
Dec	-0.2	-0.9	-0.7
Jan	-3.7	-3.8	-3.4
Feb	6.0	4.7	5.6
Mar	1.1	2.2	0.9
Apr	-1.4	-1.4	-1.4
May	-0.3	-0.8	-0.8
Jun	1.8	1.4	1.3

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

["","2022-23","2023-24","2024-25","2025-26"]

[["Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec","Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun"],[[null],[1.7],[3.7],[-3.2],[2.5],[-0.2],[-3.7],[6],[1.1],[-1.4],[-0.3],[1.8]],[[-0.6],[2],[3.8],[-3],[2.7],[-0.9],[-3.8],[4.7],[2.2],[-1.4],[-0.8],[1.4]],[[-0.1],[1.4],[3.9],[-3.3],[2.3],[-0.7],[-3.4],[5.6],[0.9],[-1.4],[-0.8],[1.3]],[[0.1],[1.4],[3.6],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null]]]

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a. The leap year day in February 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
	Sep Qtr 24	Dec Qtr 24	Mar Qtr 25	Jun Qtr 25	Sep Qtr 25
Quarter change (%)	2.8	0.8	0.8	0.9	2.8
Annual quarter change (%)	6.2	5.5	6.0	5.4	5.5
Total wages and salaries ($m)	300,841	303,368	305,746	308,483	317,242

Quarter change in total wages and salaries paid by employers
	2022-23 (%)	2023-24 (%)	2024-25 (%)	2025-26 (%)
Sep Qtr	na	3.0	2.8	2.8
Dec Qtr	1.3	1.6	0.8
Mar Qtr	1.2	0.3	0.8
Jun Qtr	1.7	1.5	0.9

State and territory

This release includes a minor method update, designed to improve the allocation of state and territory estimates. For more information, see the Refined allocation method subsection of Factors affecting interpretation.

In September 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers increased in all states and territories from August 2025.

New South Wales saw the largest increase of $1,338m (+4.1%)

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
New South Wales	4.1	3.9	4.1
Victoria	3.7	4.4	3.7
Queensland	3.0	4.0	3.9
South Australia	3.7	3.3	3.5
Western Australia	4.8	3.8	2.8
Tasmania	2.7	2.6	2.4
Northern Territory	0.9	-1.4	0.6
Australian Capital Territory	2.9	1.8	1.5

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

[" ","Sep-23","Sep-24","Sep-25"]

[["New South Wales             ","Victoria                    ","Queensland                  ","South Australia             ","Western Australia           ","Tasmania                    ","Northern Territory          ","Australian Capital Territory"],[[4.1],[3.7],[3],[3.7],[4.8],[2.7],[0.9],[2.9]],[[3.9],[4.4],[4],[3.3],[3.8],[2.6],[-1.4],[1.8]],[[4.1],[3.7],[3.9],[3.5],[2.8],[2.4],[0.6],[1.5]]]

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Month change, August

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Aug-23 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Aug-25 (%)
New South Wales	2.2	1.5	1.6
Victoria	1.2	1.5	0.7
Queensland	2.7	0.9	1.0
South Australia	1.9	1.3	1.9
Western Australia	1.9	1.9	2.6
Tasmania	2.5	0.9	1.3
Northern Territory	4.8	5.0	3.2
Australian Capital Territory	1.0	1.5	0.4

Month change, July

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Jul-23 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Jul-25 (%)
New South Wales	-1.4	-0.8	-0.1
Victoria	-0.2	-0.7	0.2
Queensland	-0.9	0.9	0.1
South Australia	0.0	0.4	0.1
Western Australia	0.4	0.9	0.6
Tasmania	-1.9	0.2	-0.7
Northern Territory	-0.1	-0.2	0.2
Australian Capital Territory	0.6	0.6	-0.1

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
New South Wales	-1.6	-1.4	1.5	-0.1	1.6	4.1
Victoria	-1.2	-1.2	1.5	0.2	0.7	3.7
Queensland	-0.2	0.0	1.5	0.1	1.0	3.9
South Australia	-0.9	-0.4	1.0	0.1	1.9	3.5
Western Australia	-3.5	-1.0	1.0	0.6	2.6	2.8
Tasmania	-2.1	-0.7	0.8	-0.7	1.3	2.4
Northern Territory	-1.9	1.7	1.6	0.2	3.2	0.6
Australian Capital Territory	0.0	1.4	-0.9	-0.1	0.4	1.5
Australia	-1.4	-0.8	1.3	0.1	1.4	3.6

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
New South Wales	4.6	4.6	4.2	5.0	5.0	5.2
Victoria	4.7	4.4	4.5	5.4	4.6	3.9
Queensland	7.1	7.1	7.0	6.1	6.1	6.0
South Australia	5.1	5.2	6.5	6.2	6.7	6.9
Western Australia	7.1	7.0	7.0	6.7	7.5	6.5
Tasmania	4.4	4.7	5.3	4.3	4.7	4.5
Northern Territory	4.9	6.7	7.2	7.6	5.8	8.0
Australian Capital Territory	6.6	7.2	6.1	5.3	4.2	3.9
Australia	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.3

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by state and territory
	Apr-25 ($m)	May-25 ($m)	Jun-25 ($m)	Jul-25 ($m)	Aug-25 ($m)	Sep-25 ($m)
New South Wales	33,616	33,154	33,636	33,609	34,138	35,527
Victoria	25,518	25,206	25,593	25,638	25,813	26,780
Queensland	19,777	19,776	20,072	20,088	20,286	21,072
South Australia	5,992	5,967	6,028	6,034	6,147	6,362
Western Australia	12,418	12,297	12,421	12,491	12,820	13,178
Tasmania	1,730	1,718	1,732	1,720	1,742	1,785
Northern Territory	1,036	1,054	1,071	1,072	1,107	1,114
Australian Capital Territory	2,873	2,913	2,887	2,883	2,895	2,939
Australia	102,959	102,084	103,439	103,535	104,949	108,757

Industry

In September 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers increased in all industries from August 2025.

Industries with month change greater than 5% in September 2025 are primarily influenced by cyclical bonus payments

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Information media and telecommunications	16.7	13.9	14.6
Financial and insurance services	14.3	14.5	14.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	11.0	10.4	10.8
Retail trade	7.5	8.9	8.8
Mining	12.8	8.3	7.9
Rental, hiring and real estate services	3.6	4.4	4.0
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	2.0	3.1	3.5
Manufacturing	3.8	3.8	3.4
Construction	1.7	2.2	2.8
Transport, postal and warehousing	7.3	5.2	2.7
Arts and recreation services	3.9	3.3	2.5
Other services	1.8	2.0	2.4
Administrative and support services	1.6	2.0	2.3
Accommodation and food services	2.5	2.0	2.2
Wholesale trade	1.6	2.0	2.2
Professional, scientific and technical services	1.9	1.6	1.8
Health care and social assistance	2.2	1.4	1.1
Public administration and safety	0.7	2.6	1.1
Education and training	-2.2	0.4	0.3

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

[" ","Sep-23","Sep-24","Sep-25"]

[["Information media and telecommunications       ","Financial and insurance services               ","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     ","Retail trade                                   ","Mining                                         ","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              ","Manufacturing                                  ","Construction                                   ","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Arts and recreation services                   ","Other services                                 ","Administrative and support services            ","Accommodation and food services                ","Wholesale trade                                ","Professional, scientific and technical services","Health care and social assistance              ","Public administration and safety               ","Education and training                         "],[[16.7],[14.3],[11],[7.5],[12.8],[3.6],[2],[3.8],[1.7],[7.3],[3.9],[1.8],[1.6],[2.5],[1.6],[1.9],[2.2],[0.7],[-2.2]],[[13.9],[14.5],[10.4],[8.9],[8.3],[4.4],[3.1],[3.8],[2.2],[5.2],[3.3],[2],[2],[2],[2],[1.6],[1.4],[2.6],[0.4]],[[14.6],[14.2],[10.8],[8.8],[7.9],[4],[3.5],[3.4],[2.8],[2.7],[2.5],[2.4],[2.3],[2.2],[2.2],[1.8],[1.1],[1.1],[0.3]]]

[]

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a. Industries are ranked by descending month change in September 2025.

Month change, August

In August 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers increased in 17 of 19 industries from July 2025.

Mining saw the largest increase of $241m (+6.9%)
Public administration and safety saw the largest decrease of $149m (-1.7%)

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Aug-23 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Aug-25 (%)
Mining	4.5	6.2	6.9
Information media and telecommunications	5.5	7.5	5.7
Education and training	6.4	3.7	2.8
Arts and recreation services	2.2	1.9	2.5
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.3	1.7	2.2
Financial and insurance services	2.4	2.3	2.0
Professional, scientific and technical services	1.2	1.0	1.6
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.1	1.4	1.6
Health care and social assistance	1.7	0.5	1.5
Other services	1.1	0.9	1.5
Accommodation and food services	1.6	1.5	1.4
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	3.0	1.8	1.3
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	3.3	-0.7	1.0
Manufacturing	1.3	1.0	0.9
Retail trade	2.0	0.7	0.8
Construction	1.2	0.4	0.7
Administrative and support services	0.3	-0.3	0.1
Wholesale trade	0.6	-0.3	-0.1
Public administration and safety	1.2	1.8	-1.7

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

[" ","Aug-23","Aug-24","Aug-25"]

[["Mining                                         ","Information media and telecommunications       ","Education and training                         ","Arts and recreation services                   ","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Financial and insurance services               ","Professional, scientific and technical services","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Health care and social assistance              ","Other services                                 ","Accommodation and food services                ","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              ","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     ","Manufacturing                                  ","Retail trade                                   ","Construction                                   ","Administrative and support services            ","Wholesale trade                                ","Public administration and safety               "],[[4.5],[5.5],[6.4],[2.2],[1.3],[2.4],[1.2],[2.1],[1.7],[1.1],[1.6],[3],[3.3],[1.3],[2],[1.2],[0.3],[0.6],[1.2]],[[6.2],[7.5],[3.7],[1.9],[1.7],[2.3],[1],[1.4],[0.5],[0.9],[1.5],[1.8],[-0.7],[1],[0.7],[0.4],[-0.3],[-0.3],[1.8]],[[6.9],[5.7],[2.8],[2.5],[2.2],[2],[1.6],[1.6],[1.5],[1.5],[1.4],[1.3],[1],[0.9],[0.8],[0.7],[0.1],[-0.1],[-1.7]]]

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a. Industries are ranked by descending month change in August 2025.

Month change, July

In July 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers decreased in 10 of 19 industries from June 2025.

Education and training saw the largest decrease of $115m (-1.4%)
Public administration and safety saw the largest increase of $140m (+1.6%)

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Jul-23 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Jul-25 (%)
Accommodation and food services	2.0	1.4	3.1
Administrative and support services	1.6	0.8	2.3
Public administration and safety	1.0	1.3	1.6
Transport, postal and warehousing	-1.4	0.0	1.1
Mining	0.7	-0.2	0.8
Other services	-0.7	-0.1	0.4
Retail trade	-0.4	0.0	0.4
Arts and recreation services	-2.2	0.4	0.2
Construction	-1.0	0.3	0.2
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1.8	6.3	-0.1
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-1.5	-0.4	-0.1
Financial and insurance services	-0.4	0.0	-0.3
Manufacturing	-1.4	-0.7	-0.4
Wholesale trade	-1.7	-0.3	-0.4
Professional, scientific and technical services	-1.6	-1.3	-0.6
Health care and social assistance	0.2	-0.3	-0.7
Education and training	-2.8	-1.4	-1.4
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-3.6	-2.3	-1.6
Information media and telecommunications	-4.2	-2.3	-1.9

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

[" ","Jul-23","Jul-24","Jul-25"]

[["Accommodation and food services                ","Administrative and support services            ","Public administration and safety               ","Transport, postal and warehousing              ","Mining                                         ","Other services                                 ","Retail trade                                   ","Arts and recreation services                   ","Construction                                   ","Electricity, gas, water and waste services     ","Rental, hiring and real estate services        ","Financial and insurance services               ","Manufacturing                                  ","Wholesale trade                                ","Professional, scientific and technical services","Health care and social assistance              ","Education and training                         ","Agriculture, forestry and fishing              ","Information media and telecommunications       "],[[2],[1.6],[1],[-1.4],[0.7],[-0.7],[-0.4],[-2.2],[-1],[1.8],[-1.5],[-0.4],[-1.4],[-1.7],[-1.6],[0.2],[-2.8],[-3.6],[-4.2]],[[1.4],[0.8],[1.3],[0],[-0.2],[-0.1],[0],[0.4],[0.3],[6.3],[-0.4],[0],[-0.7],[-0.3],[-1.3],[-0.3],[-1.4],[-2.3],[-2.3]],[[3.1],[2.3],[1.6],[1.1],[0.8],[0.4],[0.4],[0.2],[0.2],[-0.1],[-0.1],[-0.3],[-0.4],[-0.4],[-0.6],[-0.7],[-1.4],[-1.6],[-1.9]]]

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a. Industries are ranked by descending month change in July 2025.

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	0.1	1.6	-0.9	-1.6	1.3	3.5
Mining	-14.5	-2.8	1.0	0.8	6.9	7.9
Manufacturing	-4.0	-1.9	1.4	-0.4	0.9	3.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-2.2	-1.0	-0.1	-0.1	1.0	10.8
Construction	-0.2	1.6	0.9	0.2	0.7	2.8
Wholesale trade	-5.4	-3.1	2.9	-0.4	-0.1	2.2
Retail trade	-0.1	-3.0	2.1	0.4	0.8	8.8
Accommodation and food services	3.6	-3.1	0.2	3.1	1.4	2.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.3	-1.6	0.7	1.1	2.2	2.7
Information media and telecommunications	-4.1	-0.7	2.7	-1.9	5.7	14.6
Financial and insurance services	-8.0	0.4	0.8	-0.3	2.0	14.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-2.6	-0.3	2.5	-0.1	1.6	4.0
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.2	-2.2	3.5	-0.6	1.6	1.8
Administrative and support services	-3.4	2.9	0.1	2.3	0.1	2.3
Public administration and safety	1.5	0.6	0.2	1.6	-1.7	1.1
Education and training	-1.2	1.7	0.6	-1.4	2.8	0.3
Health care and social assistance	2.5	-2.5	1.6	-0.7	1.5	1.1
Arts and recreation services	1.0	-2.7	0.4	0.2	2.5	2.5
Other services	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.4	1.5	2.4
All industries	-1.4	-0.8	1.3	0.1	1.4	3.6

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1.9	4.5	4.9	5.7	5.2	5.7
Mining	3.0	2.8	3.1	4.1	4.7	4.4
Manufacturing	2.4	3.2	2.8	3.1	2.9	2.5
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	11.6	13.5	12.6	5.9	7.7	8.1
Construction	4.7	6.0	5.8	5.7	6.0	6.7
Wholesale trade	4.1	4.7	4.1	3.9	4.0	4.2
Retail trade	3.3	2.5	2.7	3.1	3.2	3.2
Accommodation and food services	5.3	5.0	3.8	5.6	5.5	5.7
Transport, postal and warehousing	4.5	4.9	5.1	6.2	6.7	4.2
Information media and telecommunications	3.7	4.5	3.6	3.9	2.3	2.9
Financial and insurance services	6.9	6.7	6.2	5.8	5.6	5.3
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2.8	3.3	3.3	3.6	3.7	3.3
Professional, scientific and technical services	4.2	3.3	3.7	4.4	5.0	5.1
Administrative and support services	-0.6	1.4	1.2	2.7	3.1	3.4
Public administration and safety	9.4	9.4	9.6	10.0	6.1	4.6
Education and training	5.7	4.9	6.1	6.1	5.1	5.0
Health care and social assistance	10.7	9.0	8.6	8.2	9.3	9.0
Arts and recreation services	4.3	4.1	4.3	4.1	4.6	3.8
Other services	5.1	5.1	5.1	5.7	6.3	6.8
All industries	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.3

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by industry (a)
	Apr-25 ($m)	May-25 ($m)	Jun-25 ($m)	Jul-25 ($m)	Aug-25 ($m)	Sep-25 ($m)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,116	1,134	1,124	1,106	1,120	1,160
Mining	3,531	3,432	3,466	3,493	3,734	4,030
Manufacturing	6,456	6,334	6,422	6,396	6,454	6,671
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	1,691	1,675	1,674	1,673	1,690	1,871
Construction	8,790	8,932	9,010	9,027	9,092	9,349
Wholesale trade	4,804	4,655	4,789	4,768	4,762	4,867
Retail trade	5,887	5,711	5,833	5,856	5,905	6,424
Accommodation and food services	3,656	3,542	3,548	3,657	3,710	3,792
Transport, postal and warehousing	4,291	4,221	4,249	4,296	4,389	4,507
Information media and telecommunications	2,107	2,092	2,150	2,109	2,230	2,555
Financial and insurance services	5,748	5,769	5,814	5,795	5,913	6,751
Rental, hiring and real estate services	2,085	2,079	2,132	2,130	2,163	2,249
Professional, scientific and technical services	11,162	10,916	11,296	11,226	11,402	11,606
Administrative and support services	5,758	5,926	5,931	6,066	6,073	6,214
Public administration and safety	8,491	8,542	8,556	8,695	8,546	8,641
Education and training	7,839	7,975	8,026	7,911	8,134	8,161
Health care and social assistance	15,520	15,131	15,370	15,267	15,497	15,671
Arts and recreation services	1,144	1,113	1,118	1,120	1,148	1,176
Other services	2,884	2,905	2,932	2,944	2,988	3,060
All industries	102,959	102,084	103,439	103,535	104,949	108,757

Employment size

In September 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers increased in all employment size groups from August 2025.

Businesses with 200 employees and over saw the largest increase of $2,699m (+4.9%)

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
0-19 employees	1.6	1.5	2.0
20-199 employees	1.9	1.8	2.4
200 employees and over	5.7	5.9	4.9

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

[" ","Sep-23","Sep-24","Sep-25"]

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Month change, August

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Aug-23 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Aug-25 (%)
0-19 employees	1.4	0.8	0.8
20-199 employees	1.4	1.1	0.9
200 employees and over	2.6	1.9	1.8

Month change, July

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Jul-23 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Jul-25 (%)
0-19 employees	-2.7	-1.9	0.2
20-199 employees	-0.1	0.7	0.9
200 employees and over	0.0	0.2	-0.3

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
0-19 employees	0.1	1.1	3.1	0.2	0.8	2.0
20-199 employees	-2.1	-0.5	0.6	0.9	0.9	2.4
200 employees and over	-1.6	-1.8	1.0	-0.3	1.8	4.9
All sizes	-1.4	-0.8	1.3	0.1	1.4	3.6

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
0-19 employees	2.5	3.0	3.0	5.2	5.3	5.7
20-199 employees	3.8	4.3	4.1	4.2	4.0	4.6
200 employees and over	7.6	7.0	7.0	6.4	6.4	5.4
All sizes	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.3

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by employment size
	Apr-25 ($m)	May-25 ($m)	Jun-25 ($m)	Jul-25 ($m)	Aug-25 ($m)	Sep-25 ($m)
0-19 employees	21,850	22,095	22,773	22,825	23,015	23,465
20-199 employees	26,741	26,607	26,765	26,995	27,243	27,902
200 employees and over	54,368	53,382	53,901	53,715	54,691	57,390
All sizes	102,959	102,084	103,439	103,535	104,949	108,757

Sector

In September 2025, total wages and salaries paid by employers rose in both sectors from August 2025.

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Sep-23 (%)	Sep-24 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Private	4.3	4.3	4.3
Public	1.6	2.0	1.1

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

[" ","Sep-23","Sep-24","Sep-25"]

[["Private","Public "],[[4.3],[1.6]],[[4.3],[2]],[[4.3],[1.1]]]

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Month change, August

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Aug-23 (%)	Aug-24 (%)	Aug-25 (%)
Private	1.8	1.4	1.6
Public	2.8	1.7	0.4

Month change, July

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Jul-23 (%)	Jul-24 (%)	Jul-25 (%)
Private	-0.6	-0.3	0.1
Public	-0.8	0.7	0.1

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Month change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Private	-2.0	-1.0	1.6	0.1	1.6	4.3
Public	1.1	-0.3	0.3	0.1	0.4	1.1
All sectors	-1.4	-0.8	1.3	0.1	1.4	3.6

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change in total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-25 (%)	May-25 (%)	Jun-25 (%)	Jul-25 (%)	Aug-25 (%)	Sep-25 (%)
Private	4.3	4.5	4.5	5.0	5.2	5.2
Public	10.0	8.8	8.5	7.9	6.5	5.6
All sectors	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.6	5.5	5.3

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries paid by employers, by sector
	Apr-25 ($m)	May-25 ($m)	Jun-25 ($m)	Jul-25 ($m)	Aug-25 ($m)	Sep-25 ($m)
Private	81,309	80,496	81,793	81,859	83,176	86,745
Public	21,651	21,588	21,646	21,677	21,773	22,012
All sectors	102,959	102,084	103,439	103,535	104,949	108,757

Data downloads

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

Data files

Download xlsx [199.61 KB]

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

Data files

Download xlsx [162.95 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [335.56 KB]

Changes in this release

The following Methodology sections were updated in this release:

How the data is transformed. Non-profiled population text updated within Creating statistical unit level data subsection.
Factors affecting interpretation. Includes a new subsection describing the Refined allocation method.

Upcoming changes

The upcoming February 2026 issue of this release will include the new monthly employee jobs measure, providing new and complementary labour market insights into jobs growth and the composition of total wages and salaries paid by employers each month.

Initially, the planned outputs are expected to include level estimates, month and annual percentage change for the following classifications:

State and territory
Industry division
Employment size
Sector

Expected data download templates are available on request at labour.statistics@abs.gov.au.

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

This release includes a refined allocation method for non-profiled businesses with multi-state operations, enhancing the quality of state and territory estimates.

View full methodology

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APA

Monthly Employee Earnings Indicator

APA

Key statistics

National

Quarter change

State and territory

Month change, August

Month change, July

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Industry

Month change, August

Month change, July

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Employment size

Month change, August

Month change, July

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

Sector

Month change, August

Month change, July

Month change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Annual change, Apr-25 to Sep-25

Total wages and salaries ($m), Apr-25 to Sep-25

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

Changes in this release

Upcoming changes

Methodology

Scope

Geography

Source

Collection method

Concepts, sources and methods

History of changes

Media releases

Wages and salaries reach seasonal peak of $108.8 billion

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