Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

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Experimental weekly estimates on the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on payroll jobs and wages, sourced from Single Touch Payroll data

Reference period

Week ending 31 October 2020

Released

17/11/2020

View all releases

Key statistics

Between the week ending 14 March and the week ending 31 October 2020:

Payroll jobs decreased by 3.0%
Total wages decreased by 4.3%

High level analysis suggests that by 31 October 2020 there were approximately 330,000 fewer payroll jobs in STP-enabled businesses than on 14 March 2020.

Between the week ending 17 October 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020:

Payroll jobs increased by 0.5%, compared to a decrease of 0.1% in the previous fortnight
Total wages paid increased by 0.1%, compared to a decrease of 1.7% in the previous fortnight

Graph 1 - Payroll jobs and total wages, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)
Week ending	Payroll jobs (pts)	Total wages (pts)
14-Mar-20	100.0	100.0
21-Mar-20	99.3	99.7
28-Mar-20	96.3	98.4
04-Apr-20	93.6	96.6
11-Apr-20	92.0	94.1
18-Apr-20	91.5	94.0
25-Apr-20	91.9	94.2
02-May-20	92.3	94.7
09-May-20	92.8	93.4
16-May-20	93.3	92.6
23-May-20	93.7	92.3
30-May-20	94.2	93.5
06-Jun-20	95.1	95.4
13-Jun-20	95.6	96.1
20-Jun-20	95.7	97.0
27-Jun-20	95.7	97.0
04-Jul-20	96.5	98.8
11-Jul-20	96.9	96.0
18-Jul-20	96.8	95.5
25-Jul-20	96.9	95.2
01-Aug-20	97.0	96.0
08-Aug-20	96.9	96.4
15-Aug-20	96.8	95.9
22-Aug-20	96.8	95.7
29-Aug-20	96.8	95.9
05-Sep-20	97.0	98.5
12-Sep-20	97.3	99.5
19-Sep-20	97.5	100.2
26-Sep-20	97.3	99.6
03-Oct-20	96.6	97.3
10-Oct-20	96.3	95.5
17-Oct-20	96.5	95.6
24-Oct-20	96.4	94.8
31-Oct-20	97.0	95.7

Graph 1 - Payroll jobs and total wages, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)

["Week ending","Payroll jobs","Total wages"]

[["14-Mar-20","21-Mar-20","28-Mar-20","04-Apr-20","11-Apr-20","18-Apr-20","25-Apr-20","02-May-20","09-May-20","16-May-20","23-May-20","30-May-20","06-Jun-20","13-Jun-20","20-Jun-20","27-Jun-20","04-Jul-20","11-Jul-20","18-Jul-20","25-Jul-20","01-Aug-20","08-Aug-20","15-Aug-20","22-Aug-20","29-Aug-20","05-Sep-20","12-Sep-20","19-Sep-20","26-Sep-20","03-Oct-20","10-Oct-20","17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20"],[[100],[99.299999999999997],[96.299999999999997],[93.599999999999994],[92],[91.5],[91.900000000000006],[92.299999999999997],[92.799999999999997],[93.299999999999997],[93.700000000000003],[94.200000000000003],[95.099999999999994],[95.599999999999994],[95.700000000000003],[95.700000000000003],[96.5],[96.900000000000006],[96.799999999999997],[96.900000000000006],[97],[96.900000000000006],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[97],[97.299999999999997],[97.5],[97.299999999999997],[96.599999999999994],[96.299999999999997],[96.5],[96.400000000000006],[97]],[[100],[99.700000000000003],[98.400000000000006],[96.599999999999994],[94.099999999999994],[94],[94.200000000000003],[94.700000000000003],[93.400000000000006],[92.599999999999994],[92.299999999999997],[93.5],[95.400000000000006],[96.099999999999994],[97],[97],[98.799999999999997],[96],[95.5],[95.200000000000003],[96],[96.400000000000006],[95.900000000000006],[95.700000000000003],[95.900000000000006],[98.5],[99.5],[100.2],[99.599999999999994],[97.299999999999997],[95.5],[95.599999999999994],[94.799999999999997],[95.700000000000003]]]

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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. Weekly change data are available in the Data downloads.

Key COVID-19 dates

22 March : Prime Minister announces Stage 2 lock down changes, which are progressively implemented
30 March : Prime Minister announces JobKeeper program
28 September : JobKeeper extension 1 (modified eligibility test) commences

State and territory

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 the largest changes across states and territories were:

Payroll jobs : Victoria decreased by 6.0% and Tasmania decreased by 4.6%
Total wages : Tasmania decreased by 5.5% and New South Wales decreased by 5.2%

Between the week ending 17 October 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020 the largest changes across states and territories were:

Payroll jobs : Victoria increased by 1.0% and Western Australia increased by 0.4%
Total wages : Western Australia increased by 1.0% and Victoria increased by 0.9%

Table 1 - Percentage change by states and territories
	Payroll jobs		Total wages
	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October
New South Wales	0.4%	-2.6%	-0.5%	-5.2%
Victoria	1.0%	-6.0%	0.9%	-4.8%
Queensland	0.1%	-2.0%	-0.8%	-3.3%
South Australia	0.4%	-0.8%	0.6%	-0.6%
Western Australia	0.4%	-0.4%	1.0%	-4.3%
Tasmania	-0.1%	-4.6%	-0.3%	-5.5%
Northern Territory	0.4%	-0.8%	-0.1%	-1.1%
Australian Capital Territory	0.3%	-2.4%	0.6%	-1.9%
Australia	0.5%	-3.0%	0.1%	-4.3%

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. Weekly change data are available in Data downloads.

Graph 2 - Payroll jobs by selected geography, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)
Week ending	Victoria (pts)	Rest of Australia (pts)
14-Mar-20	100.0	100.0
21-Mar-20	99.1	99.3
28-Mar-20	96.2	96.3
04-Apr-20	93.2	93.8
11-Apr-20	91.7	92.0
18-Apr-20	91.2	91.6
25-Apr-20	91.7	91.9
02-May-20	91.9	92.4
09-May-20	92.0	93.1
16-May-20	92.2	93.7
23-May-20	92.4	94.1
30-May-20	93.0	94.6
06-Jun-20	93.9	95.5
13-Jun-20	95.0	95.8
20-Jun-20	95.2	95.9
27-Jun-20	94.8	96.0
04-Jul-20	95.6	96.9
11-Jul-20	95.5	97.4
18-Jul-20	95.2	97.4
25-Jul-20	94.8	97.6
01-Aug-20	94.7	97.8
08-Aug-20	93.9	98.0
15-Aug-20	93.3	98.0
22-Aug-20	92.8	98.2
29-Aug-20	92.9	98.2
05-Sep-20	93.0	98.4
12-Sep-20	93.4	98.7
19-Sep-20	93.5	98.9
26-Sep-20	93.4	98.7
03-Oct-20	92.8	98.0
10-Oct-20	92.8	97.5
17-Oct-20	93.1	97.7
24-Oct-20	93.2	97.5
31-Oct-20	94.0	98.0

Graph 2 - Payroll jobs by selected geography, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)

["Week ending","Victoria","Rest of Australia"]

[["14-Mar-20","21-Mar-20","28-Mar-20","04-Apr-20","11-Apr-20","18-Apr-20","25-Apr-20","02-May-20","09-May-20","16-May-20","23-May-20","30-May-20","06-Jun-20","13-Jun-20","20-Jun-20","27-Jun-20","04-Jul-20","11-Jul-20","18-Jul-20","25-Jul-20","01-Aug-20","08-Aug-20","15-Aug-20","22-Aug-20","29-Aug-20","05-Sep-20","12-Sep-20","19-Sep-20","26-Sep-20","03-Oct-20","10-Oct-20","17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20"],[[100],[99.099999999999994],[96.200000000000003],[93.200000000000003],[91.700000000000003],[91.200000000000003],[91.700000000000003],[91.900000000000006],[92],[92.200000000000003],[92.400000000000006],[93],[93.900000000000006],[95],[95.200000000000003],[94.799999999999997],[95.599999999999994],[95.5],[95.200000000000003],[94.799999999999997],[94.700000000000003],[93.900000000000006],[93.299999999999997],[92.799999999999997],[92.900000000000006],[93],[93.400000000000006],[93.5],[93.400000000000006],[92.799999999999997],[92.799999999999997],[93.099999999999994],[93.200000000000003],[94]],[[100],[99.299999999999997],[96.299999999999997],[93.799999999999997],[92],[91.599999999999994],[91.900000000000006],[92.400000000000006],[93.099999999999994],[93.700000000000003],[94.099999999999994],[94.599999999999994],[95.5],[95.799999999999997],[95.900000000000006],[96],[96.900000000000006],[97.400000000000006],[97.400000000000006],[97.599999999999994],[97.799999999999997],[98],[98],[98.200000000000003],[98.200000000000003],[98.400000000000006],[98.700000000000003],[98.900000000000006],[98.700000000000003],[98],[97.5],[97.700000000000003],[97.5],[98]]]

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

Interactive maps

The interactive maps were updated to the week ending 31 October 2020, as part of this release on Friday 20 November.

Interactive maps presenting change in payroll jobs by substate regions (SA4 and SA3) up to the week ending 31 October 2020 are found in this link. The interactive maps are updated in alternate fortnightly releases, to coincide with the update of substate region estimates.

How to use:

Select: Geographical area can be selected using the Statistical Area 3 (SA3) or Statistical Area 4 (SA4) upper tabs.
Search: the magnifying glass icon opens the search function. It is set to look for locations such as addresses, suburbs and postcodes contained within an SA4 or SA3 region.
Reference week: the date slider at the bottom of the map can be moved to select a particular week of interest, or see changes over time.
Data: on the relevant map, an SA4 or SA3 can be selected to view the underlying data. The time series index estimates for SA4 and SA3s can be found in Table 5 of the Data downloads.
If the maps do not load successfully, please try refreshing the page.

SA4 and SA3 boundaries presented in the interactive maps accord with those presented in the Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016.

Sub-state - payroll jobs

Estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions were updated through to the week ending 31 October 2020 on Wednesday 18 November 2020.

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 31 October 2020 in Table 5 of the Data downloads.

SA4 regions are specifically designed to reflect labour markets within each state and territory within population limits. In regional areas, SA4s tend to have lower populations (100,000 to 300,000), while in metropolitan areas, SA4s tend to have larger populations (300,000 to 500,000).

SA3 regions generally have populations between 30,000 and 130,000 persons. They are often the functional areas of regional towns and cities with a population in excess of 20,000, or clusters of related suburbs around urban commercial and transport hubs within the major urban areas.

For more information see Statistical Geography; Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 1 - Main Structure and Greater Capital City Statistical Areas, July 2016; or Australian Statistical Geography Standard, Volume 3 - Non-ABS Structures, July 2018.

Sex and age group

Sex

Since the week ending 14 March 2020:

Payroll jobs : Those worked by males decreased by 4.2% and those worked by females decreased by 3.2%
Total wages : Payments to males decreased by 6.4% and payments to females decreased by 1.8%

Between the week ending 17 October 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020:

Payroll jobs : Those worked by females decreased by 0.6% and those worked by males increased by 0.2%
Total wages : Payments to females decreased by 0.7% and payments to males decreased by 0.4%

Table 2 - Percentage change by sex
	Payroll jobs		Total wages
	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October
Males	0.2%	-4.2%	-0.4%	-6.4%
Females	0.6%	-3.2%	0.7%	-1.8%
All persons	0.5%	-3.0%	0.1%	-4.3%

Graph 3 - Payroll jobs by sex, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)
Week ending	Males (pts)	Females (pts)
14-Mar-20	100.0	100.0
21-Mar-20	99.4	99.2
28-Mar-20	97.0	95.8
04-Apr-20	95.1	92.7
11-Apr-20	93.8	90.8
18-Apr-20	93.5	90.2
25-Apr-20	93.7	90.7
02-May-20	93.9	91.3
09-May-20	94.3	92.0
16-May-20	94.7	92.6
23-May-20	94.7	93.1
30-May-20	95.0	93.7
06-Jun-20	95.6	94.8
13-Jun-20	95.9	95.4
20-Jun-20	95.7	95.8
27-Jun-20	95.1	96.1
04-Jul-20	96.1	96.8
11-Jul-20	96.8	96.8
18-Jul-20	96.7	96.6
25-Jul-20	96.8	96.7
01-Aug-20	96.8	96.9
08-Aug-20	96.7	96.7
15-Aug-20	96.6	96.6
22-Aug-20	96.6	96.5
29-Aug-20	96.5	96.6
05-Sep-20	96.6	96.8
12-Sep-20	96.9	97.1
19-Sep-20	96.9	97.2
26-Sep-20	96.7	97.0
03-Oct-20	96.1	96.2
10-Oct-20	95.6	95.8
17-Oct-20	95.6	96.2
24-Oct-20	95.3	96.2
31-Oct-20	95.8	96.8

Graph 3 - Payroll jobs by sex, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)

["Week ending","Males","Females"]

[["14-Mar-20","21-Mar-20","28-Mar-20","04-Apr-20","11-Apr-20","18-Apr-20","25-Apr-20","02-May-20","09-May-20","16-May-20","23-May-20","30-May-20","06-Jun-20","13-Jun-20","20-Jun-20","27-Jun-20","04-Jul-20","11-Jul-20","18-Jul-20","25-Jul-20","01-Aug-20","08-Aug-20","15-Aug-20","22-Aug-20","29-Aug-20","05-Sep-20","12-Sep-20","19-Sep-20","26-Sep-20","03-Oct-20","10-Oct-20","17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20"],[[100],[99.400000000000006],[97],[95.099999999999994],[93.799999999999997],[93.5],[93.700000000000003],[93.900000000000006],[94.299999999999997],[94.700000000000003],[94.700000000000003],[95],[95.599999999999994],[95.900000000000006],[95.700000000000003],[95.099999999999994],[96.099999999999994],[96.799999999999997],[96.700000000000003],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[96.700000000000003],[96.599999999999994],[96.599999999999994],[96.5],[96.599999999999994],[96.900000000000006],[96.900000000000006],[96.700000000000003],[96.099999999999994],[95.599999999999994],[95.599999999999994],[95.299999999999997],[95.799999999999997]],[[100],[99.200000000000003],[95.799999999999997],[92.700000000000003],[90.799999999999997],[90.200000000000003],[90.700000000000003],[91.299999999999997],[92],[92.599999999999994],[93.099999999999994],[93.700000000000003],[94.799999999999997],[95.400000000000006],[95.799999999999997],[96.099999999999994],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[96.599999999999994],[96.700000000000003],[96.900000000000006],[96.700000000000003],[96.599999999999994],[96.5],[96.599999999999994],[96.799999999999997],[97.099999999999994],[97.200000000000003],[97],[96.200000000000003],[95.799999999999997],[96.200000000000003],[96.200000000000003],[96.799999999999997]]]

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Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, please see Data limitations and revisions. Weekly change data are available in the Data downloads section.

Age group

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 the largest changes across age groups were:

Payroll jobs : Those worked by people aged under 20 increased by 13.8% and those worked by people aged 70 and over decreased by 12.2%
Total wages : Payments to people aged under 20 increased by 33.1% and payments to people aged 70 and over decreased by 12.0%

Between the week ending 17 October 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020 the largest changes across age groups were:

Payroll jobs : Those worked by people aged under 20 increased by 3.2% and those worked by people aged 20-29 increased by 0.6%
Total wages : Payments to people aged under 20 increased by 2.6% and payments to people aged 20-29 increased by 0.4%

Table 3 - Percentage change by age group
	Payroll jobs		Total wages
	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October
Aged under 20	3.2%	13.8%	2.6%	33.1%
20-29 year olds	0.6%	-4.5%	0.4%	1.1%
30-39 year olds	0.2%	-2.9%	-0.2%	-3.6%
40-49 year olds	0.5%	-1.9%	0.1%	-5.8%
50-59 year olds	0.4%	-2.4%	0.2%	-6.3%
60-69 year olds	0.5%	-6.5%	-0.1%	-9.2%
Aged 70 and over	0.4%	-12.2%	0.1%	-12.0%
All persons	0.5%	-3.0%	0.1%	-4.3%

Industry

Since the week ending 14 March 2020 the largest changes across industry were:

Payroll jobs : Accommodation and food services decreased by 15.5% and Arts and recreation services decreased by 12.8%
Total wages : Mining decreased by 18.2% and Accommodation and food services decreased by 15.5%

Between the week ending 17 October 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020 the largest changes across industry were:

Payroll jobs : Education and training increased by 3.1% and Retail trade increased by 2.7%
Total wages : Education and training increased by 2.9% and Administrative and support services decreased by 2.1%

Table 4 - Percentage change by industry
	Payroll jobs		Total wages
	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October	Change between 17 October and 31 October (a)	Change between 14 March and 31 October
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-1.6%	-6.8%	-1.2%	-2.0%
Mining (b)	0.2%	-1.3%	-1.7%	-18.2%
Manufacturing	0.3%	-3.4%	-0.6%	-8.1%
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.6%	-0.1%	-1.5%	1.2%
Construction	-0.8%	-5.7%	-0.1%	-5.6%
Wholesale trade	0.9%	-3.4%	1.3%	-9.9%
Retail trade	2.7%	-0.6%	1.0%	-2.5%
Accommodation and food services	1.1%	-15.5%	1.1%	-15.5%
Transport, postal and warehousing	1.1%	-5.5%	1.5%	-8.9%
Information media and telecommunications (c)	0.0%	-8.5%	0.0%	-2.8%
Financial and insurance services	1.2%	3.4%	-0.5%	-6.5%
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.3%	-5.6%	-0.8%	-6.0%
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.9%	-3.6%	-1.4%	-4.7%
Administrative and support services	-0.9%	-3.7%	-2.1%	-3.0%
Public administration and safety	0.3%	3.0%	1.1%	0.6%
Education and training	3.1%	-1.6%	2.9%	0.5%
Health care and social assistance	-0.5%	1.3%	0.4%	3.8%
Arts and recreation services	-1.6%	-12.8%	-2.1%	-12.1%
Other services	-0.1%	-5.4%	-0.5%	-0.4%
All industries	0.5%	-3.0%	0.1%	-4.3%

a. Care should be exercised when focusing on the most recent movements in payroll jobs and wages. Weekly change data are available in Data downloads.
b. The Mining industry wages estimates in March and September may include annual bonuses. Please refer to the seasonality section in Data limitations and revisions for further information.
c. A smoothing treatment has been applied to the Information media and telecommunications industry payroll jobs and wages estimates through October. Please refer to the reporting variability section in Data limitations and revisions.

Graph 4 - Percentage change in payroll jobs by Industry between 14 March 2020 and 31 October 2020
	Percentage Change (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-6.8
Mining	-1.3
Manufacturing	-3.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.1
Construction	-5.7
Wholesale trade	-3.4
Retail trade	-0.6
Accommodation and food services	-15.5
Transport, postal and warehousing	-5.5
Information media and telecommunications	-8.5
Financial and insurance services	3.4
Rental, hiring and real estate services	-5.6
Professional, scientific and technical services	-3.6
Administrative and support services	-3.7
Public administration and safety	3.0
Education and training	-1.6
Health care and social assistance	1.3
Arts and recreation services	-12.8
Other services	-5.4

Graph 4 - Percentage change in payroll jobs by Industry between 14 March 2020 and 31 October 2020

["","Percentage Change"]

[["Agriculture, forestry and fishing","Mining","Manufacturing","Electricity, gas, water and waste services","Construction","Wholesale trade","Retail trade","Accommodation and food services","Transport, postal and warehousing","Information media and telecommunications","Financial and insurance services","Rental, hiring and real estate services","Professional, scientific and technical services","Administrative and support services","Public administration and safety","Education and training","Health care and social assistance","Arts and recreation services","Other services"],[[-6.7999999999999998],[-1.3],[-3.3999999999999999],[-0.10000000000000001],[-5.7000000000000002],[-3.3999999999999999],[-0.59999999999999998],[-15.5],[-5.5],[-8.5],[3.3999999999999999],[-5.5999999999999996],[-3.6000000000000001],[-3.7000000000000002],[3],[-1.6000000000000001],[1.3],[-12.800000000000001],[-5.4000000000000004]]]

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Industry sub-division - Payroll jobs

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision (presented as index values) are available in Table 6 of the Data downloads, up to the week ending 17 October 2020 (as updated on 5 November 2020).

The sub-division level is the second broadest grouping of industries within the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. Industry sub-divisions are built up from the industry groups which, in turn, are built up from industry classes.

Employment size

The following experimental estimates present payroll jobs by employment size between the week ending 14 March 2020 and the week ending 31 October 2020.

Care should be exercised when focusing on recent movements in payroll jobs by employment size, as they are subject to higher than usual levels of revision (over a longer period) than other estimates. The ABS is currently investigating underlying data to identify the cause and establish a method to reduce the future level of revisions in this series.

Graph 5 - Payroll jobs by employment size, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)(b)
Week ending	All sizes (pts)	Under 20 employees (pts)	20-199 employees (pts)	200 employees and over (pts)
14-Mar-20	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
21-Mar-20	99.3	99.2	98.7	99.5
28-Mar-20	96.3	95.3	94.1	97.8
04-Apr-20	93.6	91.9	90.5	96.0
11-Apr-20	92.0	89.4	88.4	94.9
18-Apr-20	91.5	88.7	87.7	94.7
25-Apr-20	91.9	89.2	88.3	94.9
02-May-20	92.3	90.3	88.8	94.9
09-May-20	92.8	91.4	89.3	95.2
16-May-20	93.3	92.5	89.9	95.4
23-May-20	93.7	93.0	90.1	95.6
30-May-20	94.2	93.6	90.6	96.1
06-Jun-20	95.1	94.8	91.4	96.9
13-Jun-20	95.6	95.4	92.2	97.3
20-Jun-20	95.7	96.0	92.5	97.1
27-Jun-20	95.7	97.1	92.5	96.4
04-Jul-20	96.5	98.9	93.2	96.9
11-Jul-20	96.9	98.7	93.4	97.6
18-Jul-20	96.8	98.5	93.4	97.5
25-Jul-20	96.9	98.8	93.8	97.4
01-Aug-20	97.0	98.8	93.9	97.6
08-Aug-20	96.9	98.6	93.6	97.6
15-Aug-20	96.8	98.5	93.5	97.5
22-Aug-20	96.8	98.5	93.5	97.5
29-Aug-20	96.8	98.6	93.6	97.4
05-Sep-20	97.0	98.8	93.9	97.5
12-Sep-20	97.3	99.2	94.5	97.7
19-Sep-20	97.5	99.2	94.6	98.0
26-Sep-20	97.3	99.1	94.4	97.8
03-Oct-20	96.6	97.9	93.9	97.3
10-Oct-20	96.3	96.2	93.8	97.5
17-Oct-20	96.5	95.4	94.2	98.2
24-Oct-20	96.4	94.6	94.3	98.3
31-Oct-20	97.0	94.2	94.6	99.5

Graph 5 - Payroll jobs by employment size, indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (a)(b)

["Week ending","All sizes","Under 20 employees","20-199 employees","200 employees and over"]

[["14-Mar-20","21-Mar-20","28-Mar-20","04-Apr-20","11-Apr-20","18-Apr-20","25-Apr-20","02-May-20","09-May-20","16-May-20","23-May-20","30-May-20","06-Jun-20","13-Jun-20","20-Jun-20","27-Jun-20","04-Jul-20","11-Jul-20","18-Jul-20","25-Jul-20","01-Aug-20","08-Aug-20","15-Aug-20","22-Aug-20","29-Aug-20","05-Sep-20","12-Sep-20","19-Sep-20","26-Sep-20","03-Oct-20","10-Oct-20","17-Oct-20","24-Oct-20","31-Oct-20"],[[100],[99.299999999999997],[96.299999999999997],[93.599999999999994],[92],[91.5],[91.900000000000006],[92.299999999999997],[92.799999999999997],[93.299999999999997],[93.700000000000003],[94.200000000000003],[95.099999999999994],[95.599999999999994],[95.700000000000003],[95.700000000000003],[96.5],[96.900000000000006],[96.799999999999997],[96.900000000000006],[97],[96.900000000000006],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[97],[97.299999999999997],[97.5],[97.299999999999997],[96.599999999999994],[96.299999999999997],[96.5],[96.400000000000006],[97]],[[100],[99.200000000000003],[95.299999999999997],[91.900000000000006],[89.400000000000006],[88.700000000000003],[89.200000000000003],[90.299999999999997],[91.400000000000006],[92.5],[93],[93.599999999999994],[94.799999999999997],[95.400000000000006],[96],[97.099999999999994],[98.900000000000006],[98.700000000000003],[98.5],[98.799999999999997],[98.799999999999997],[98.599999999999994],[98.5],[98.5],[98.599999999999994],[98.799999999999997],[99.200000000000003],[99.200000000000003],[99.099999999999994],[97.900000000000006],[96.200000000000003],[95.400000000000006],[94.599999999999994],[94.200000000000003]],[[100],[98.700000000000003],[94.099999999999994],[90.5],[88.400000000000006],[87.700000000000003],[88.299999999999997],[88.799999999999997],[89.299999999999997],[89.900000000000006],[90.099999999999994],[90.599999999999994],[91.400000000000006],[92.200000000000003],[92.5],[92.5],[93.200000000000003],[93.400000000000006],[93.400000000000006],[93.799999999999997],[93.900000000000006],[93.599999999999994],[93.5],[93.5],[93.599999999999994],[93.900000000000006],[94.5],[94.599999999999994],[94.400000000000006],[93.900000000000006],[93.799999999999997],[94.200000000000003],[94.299999999999997],[94.599999999999994]],[[100],[99.5],[97.799999999999997],[96],[94.900000000000006],[94.700000000000003],[94.900000000000006],[94.900000000000006],[95.200000000000003],[95.400000000000006],[95.599999999999994],[96.099999999999994],[96.900000000000006],[97.299999999999997],[97.099999999999994],[96.400000000000006],[96.900000000000006],[97.599999999999994],[97.5],[97.400000000000006],[97.599999999999994],[97.599999999999994],[97.5],[97.5],[97.400000000000006],[97.5],[97.700000000000003],[98],[97.799999999999997],[97.299999999999997],[97.5],[98.200000000000003],[98.299999999999997],[99.5]]]

[]

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a. Excludes a small number of businesses reporting in STP where employment size information was unable to be sourced from the ABS Business Register.
b. Care should be exercised when focusing on recent movements in payroll jobs. For more information, see the Reporting variability section in Data limitations and revisions.

Table 5 - Percentage change in Payroll jobs by state and territory, by employment size as at 14 March 2020 (a)
		Change between 17 October and 31 October (b)	Change between 14 March and 31 October
Under 20 employees		-1.2%	-5.8%
	New South Wales	-1.6%	-6.7%
	Victoria	-0.9%	-9.4%
	Queensland	-1.2%	-3.3%
	South Australia	-0.5%	-0.9%
	Western Australia	-1.2%	-1.6%
	Tasmania	-1.0%	-6.1%
	Northern Territory	-1.7%	-2.3%
	Australian Capital Territory	-2.9%	-6.2%
20-199 employees		0.4%	-5.4%
	New South Wales	0.0%	-5.0%
	Victoria	1.4%	-9.3%
	Queensland	0.1%	-3.2%
	South Australia	0.4%	-3.5%
	Western Australia	-0.1%	-1.6%
	Tasmania	-0.5%	-7.3%
	Northern Territory	-0.6%	-3.7%
	Australian Capital Territory	0.9%	-4.6%
200 employees and over		1.3%	-0.5%
	New South Wales	1.5%	0.6%
	Victoria	1.7%	-2.7%
	Queensland	0.8%	-0.7%
	South Australia	0.8%	0.6%
	Western Australia	1.4%	0.6%
	Tasmania	0.6%	-1.9%
	Northern Territory	2.0%	1.9%
	Australian Capital Territory	1.3%	-0.3%

Employment size source

Employment size variables were determined from ABS Business Register data. The ABS Business Register is populated using administrative data from the Australian Business Register (ABR) and business data from the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Data on the structures of large and complex businesses are also collected by ABS. The ABS Business Register is updated regularly and a frame of business, containing business characteristic information, is produced quarterly for use in the production of statistics.

The March 2020 quarterly frame was used to determine employment size for businesses reporting their payroll via STP and subsequently allocate their reported payroll jobs against. Once a payroll job is allocated to an employment size category, it is held constant against that category over time. By using the March 2020 quarter frame and holding employment size categorisation constant, the ABS is able to present information about the change in payroll jobs based on the employment size of businesses before Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case on 14 March 2020.

Businesses which are newly created after March 2020 are unable to be assigned a size and are subsequently excluded from the index calculation of employment size groups. These 'new' businesses are included in the calculation of all sizes category (for state and territory, and national level estimates). The number of STP reporting businesses 'born' since Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 in March 2020 is considered small, hence their exclusion is expected to have minimal impact on the estimates. The ABS exploring how to incorporate newly created businesses into the employment size estimates and may include them in a future release.

Data downloads

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Table 1: National spotlight

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Table 2: State and territory spotlight

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Table 3: Industry spotlight

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Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

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Table 5: Substate - Payroll jobs indexes

Updated estimates of payroll jobs by Statistical Area 4 (SA4) and Statistical Area 3 (SA3) to the week ending 31 October 2020, were added on Wednesday 18 November 2020.

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Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs index

Estimates of payroll jobs indexes by industry subdivision to the week ending 17 October 2020 as released on Thursday 5 November 2020.

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Table 7: Employment size - Payroll jobs index

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All data cubes

Updated to include Table 5 as released on Wednesday 18 November 2020.

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Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

History of changes

20 November 2020: The interactive maps data were updated to the week ending 31 October 2020.

18 November 2020: Substate - Payroll jobs indexes (Table 5 of the Data downloads) updated to the week ending 31 October 2020.

Methodology

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia methodology, Week ending 31 October 2020

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APA

Citation

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Key COVID-19 dates

State and territory

Interactive maps

Sub-state - payroll jobs

Sex and age group

Sex

Age group

Industry

Industry sub-division - Payroll jobs

Employment size

Employment size source

Data downloads

I-note

Table 1: National spotlight

Table 2: State and territory spotlight

Table 3: Industry spotlight

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Table 5: Substate - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs index

Table 7: Employment size - Payroll jobs index

All data cubes

Previous catalogue number

History of changes

Methodology

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APA

Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia

APA

Key statistics

Key COVID-19 dates

State and territory

Interactive maps

Sub-state - payroll jobs

Sex and age group

Sex

Age group

Industry

Industry sub-division - Payroll jobs

Employment size

Employment size source

Data downloads

I-note

Table 1: National spotlight

Table 2: State and territory spotlight

Table 3: Industry spotlight

Table 4: Payroll jobs and wages indexes

Table 5: Substate - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs index

Table 7: Employment size - Payroll jobs index

All data cubes

Previous catalogue number

History of changes

Methodology

Media releases

Payroll jobs rise in Victoria

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