Weekly Payroll Jobs, Week ending 16 March 2024

Factors affecting interpretation

Revisions

Change periods

National

In the month to 16 March 2024, payroll jobs increased by 0.4%, compared to an increase of 2.1% in the previous month.

Payroll jobs, comparison across years (a)(b)(c)
	2020 (pts)	2021 (pts)	2022 (pts)	2023 (pts)	2024 (pts)
Week 0	92.7	96.1	100.0	105.7	109.3
Week 1	95.2	97.4	100.6	106.1	109.2
Week 2	96.7	99.5	102.8	108.5	111.3
Week 3	97.5	100.5	104.2	109.9	112.8
Week 4	98.1	101.1	105.0	110.6	113.4
Week 5	98.7	101.6	105.6	111.5	114.1
Week 6	99.2	102.3	106.1	112.1	114.8
Week 7	99.5	102.6	106.0	112.6	115.1
Week 8	99.5	103.1	105.8	113.1	115.3
Week 9	99.9	103.3	106.1	113.5	115.5
Week 10	100.0	103.7	107.1	113.7	115.6
Week 11	99.1	103.8	107.5	113.8	115.6
Week 12	95.6	103.7	107.6	114.0
Week 13	93.1	102.8	107.3	113.8
Week 14	91.7	102.5	107.6	113.1
Week 15	91.7	102.7	106.9	112.9
Week 16	92.3	103.0	106.6	113.3
Week 17	92.8	103.3	107.1	113.6
Week 18	93.5	103.7	107.6	113.9
Week 19	94.2	104.0	107.9	114.3
Week 20	94.5	104.2	108.2	114.4
Week 21	94.9	103.9	108.4	114.4
Week 22	95.7	103.5	108.3	114.4
Week 23	96.2	103.7	108.8	114.4
Week 24	96.3	103.8	109.2	114.7
Week 25	96.3	103.5	109.7	114.5
Week 26	97.5	103.6	110.1	114.0
Week 27	98.6	104.4	111.1	114.6
Week 28	98.7	104.1	111.1	114.5
Week 29	98.9	102.9	111.1	114.7
Week 30	99.1	103.1	111.6	114.9
Week 31	99.2	102.9	111.7	115.0
Week 32	99.1	102.8	112.0	115.3
Week 33	99.2	102.1	112.2	115.5
Week 34	99.3	101.6	112.4	115.6
Week 35	99.6	101.7	112.3	115.3
Week 36	100.0	102.3	112.6	115.4
Week 37	100.2	102.7	112.6	115.6
Week 38	100.0	102.5	112.2	115.5
Week 39	99.3	102.2	111.8	115.0
Week 40	99.5	102.6	112.0	115.0
Week 41	100.4	104.3	112.6	115.9
Week 42	100.7	105.5	113.0	116.2
Week 43	100.9	106.4	113.1	115.7
Week 44	101.3	106.9	113.3	115.8
Week 45	102.1	107.4	113.7	116.0
Week 46	102.4	107.9	114.1	116.2
Week 47	102.8	108.2	114.3	116.3
Week 48	103.3	108.7	114.6	116.2
Week 49	103.4	108.5	114.4	116.1
Week 50	102.6	107.7	113.7	115.4
Week 51	98.8	104.0	110.4	113.7

Payroll jobs, comparison across years (a)(b)(c)

["","2020","2021","2022","2023","2024"]

[["Week 0","Week 1","Week 2","Week 3","Week 4","Week 5","Week 6","Week 7","Week 8","Week 9","Week 10","Week 11","Week 12","Week 13","Week 14","Week 15","Week 16","Week 17","Week 18","Week 19","Week 20","Week 21","Week 22","Week 23","Week 24","Week 25","Week 26","Week 27","Week 28","Week 29","Week 30","Week 31","Week 32","Week 33","Week 34","Week 35","Week 36","Week 37","Week 38","Week 39","Week 40","Week 41","Week 42","Week 43","Week 44","Week 45","Week 46","Week 47","Week 48","Week 49","Week 50","Week 51"],[[92.700000000000003],[95.200000000000003],[96.700000000000003],[97.5],[98.099999999999994],[98.700000000000003],[99.200000000000003],[99.5],[99.5],[99.900000000000006],[100],[99.099999999999994],[95.599999999999994],[93.099999999999994],[91.700000000000003],[91.700000000000003],[92.299999999999997],[92.799999999999997],[93.5],[94.200000000000003],[94.5],[94.900000000000006],[95.700000000000003],[96.200000000000003],[96.299999999999997],[96.299999999999997],[97.5],[98.599999999999994],[98.700000000000003],[98.900000000000006],[99.099999999999994],[99.200000000000003],[99.099999999999994],[99.200000000000003],[99.299999999999997],[99.599999999999994],[100],[100.2],[100],[99.299999999999997],[99.5],[100.40000000000001],[100.7],[100.90000000000001],[101.3],[102.09999999999999],[102.40000000000001],[102.8],[103.3],[103.40000000000001],[102.59999999999999],[98.799999999999997]],[[96.099999999999994],[97.400000000000006],[99.5],[100.5],[101.09999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[102.3],[102.59999999999999],[103.09999999999999],[103.3],[103.7],[103.8],[103.7],[102.8],[102.5],[102.7],[103],[103.3],[103.7],[104],[104.2],[103.90000000000001],[103.5],[103.7],[103.8],[103.5],[103.59999999999999],[104.40000000000001],[104.09999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[103.09999999999999],[102.90000000000001],[102.8],[102.09999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[101.7],[102.3],[102.7],[102.5],[102.2],[102.59999999999999],[104.3],[105.5],[106.40000000000001],[106.90000000000001],[107.40000000000001],[107.90000000000001],[108.2],[108.7],[108.5],[107.7],[104]],[[100],[100.59999999999999],[102.8],[104.2],[105],[105.59999999999999],[106.09999999999999],[106],[105.8],[106.09999999999999],[107.09999999999999],[107.5],[107.59999999999999],[107.3],[107.59999999999999],[106.90000000000001],[106.59999999999999],[107.09999999999999],[107.59999999999999],[107.90000000000001],[108.2],[108.40000000000001],[108.3],[108.8],[109.2],[109.7],[110.09999999999999],[111.09999999999999],[111.09999999999999],[111.09999999999999],[111.59999999999999],[111.7],[112],[112.2],[112.40000000000001],[112.3],[112.59999999999999],[112.59999999999999],[112.2],[111.8],[112],[112.59999999999999],[113],[113.09999999999999],[113.3],[113.7],[114.09999999999999],[114.3],[114.59999999999999],[114.40000000000001],[113.7],[110.40000000000001]],[[105.7],[106.09999999999999],[108.5],[109.90000000000001],[110.59999999999999],[111.5],[112.09999999999999],[112.59999999999999],[113.09999999999999],[113.5],[113.7],[113.8],[114],[113.8],[113.09999999999999],[112.90000000000001],[113.3],[113.59999999999999],[113.90000000000001],[114.3],[114.40000000000001],[114.40000000000001],[114.40000000000001],[114.40000000000001],[114.7],[114.5],[114],[114.59999999999999],[114.5],[114.7],[114.90000000000001],[115],[115.3],[115.5],[115.59999999999999],[115.3],[115.40000000000001],[115.59999999999999],[115.5],[115],[115],[115.90000000000001],[116.2],[115.7],[115.8],[116],[116.2],[116.3],[116.2],[116.09999999999999],[115.40000000000001],[113.7]],[[109.3],[109.2],[111.3],[112.8],[113.40000000000001],[114.09999999999999],[114.8],[115.09999999999999],[115.3],[115.5],[115.59999999999999],[115.59999999999999]]]

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Indexed to the week ending 14 March 2020 (week 10 in 2020).
Week 0 represents the weeks ending 4 January 2020, 2 January 2021, 1 January 2022, 31 December 2022 and 30 December 2023. Week 11 represents the weeks ending 21 March 2020, 20 March 2021, 19 March 2022, 18 March 2023 and 16 March 2024.
Around the change in financial years estimates see a greater variation in business payroll reporting. For more information, see the Data variability and revisions section.

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

State and territory

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

In the month to 16 March 2024, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Northern Territory, up 1.3%
Australian Capital Territory, up 0.8%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
New South Wales	0.0	0.2	0.8
Victoria	0.1	0.5	1.4
Queensland	0.1	0.4	1.3
South Australia	0.0	0.3	2.9
Western Australia	-0.1	0.3	3.1
Tasmania	0.1	0.5	1.8
Northern Territory	0.5	1.3	4.0
Australian Capital Territory	0.3	0.8	1.5
Australia	0.1	0.4	1.5

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

This map presents the percentage change in payroll jobs in the month up to 16 March 2024, by the state and territory of the jobholder's residential address.

Sex and age group

Updating of jobholder characteristics including sex and age is no longer possible on the current Weekly Payroll Jobs systems and processes. Users are advised that the accuracy of sex in particular will be affected by a growing proportion of 'unknowns'. See Jobholder characteristics in How the data are processed for more information.

As at 16 March 2024, the proportion of jobholders with unknown sex has risen to 8.9%. These jobholders are not evenly distributed, hence this proportion differs across detailed indexes which include sex, and can affect comparisons over time. When persons join the workforce or register with the ATO for the first time, the ABS assigns STP records whose jobholder characteristics cannot be determined to an ‘unknown’ category for the relevant jobholder characteristics including sex (with an unknown sex not to be confused with people choosing to report a sex other than male or female). Indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex are particularly impacted by rising proportions of unknown sex due to the high likelihood of persons in this age group registering with the ATO for the first time. The indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex have been withdrawn since the 11 May 2023 release, and users are advised to consider the declining quality of the indexes of persons aged 20-29 years old by sex.

In the month to 16 March 2024, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

worked by females, up 0.4%
worked by persons aged 70 and over, up 1.4%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by sex and age group (a)
		Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Sex	Males	-0.1	-0.1	-2.8
Sex	Females	0.1	0.4	-0.8
Age group (years)	15-19	0.6	-0.9	-5.7
	20-29	0.3	0.8	1.5
	30-39	0.1	0.3	2.4
	40-49	-0.1	0.2	2.2
	50-59	-0.1	0.2	0.9
	60-69	-0.2	0.9	4.2
	70 and over	-0.2	1.4	6.7
All persons		0.1	0.4	1.5

a. Persons with 'unknown' sex and age are only included in the calculation of All persons indexes. For more information, see Inclusion of unknown characteristics in How data are processed.

5 year age groups

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by 5 year age groups by sex are presented as index values in Table 8 of the Data downloads.

Industry

In the month to 16 March 2024, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

Education and training, up 3.8%
Arts and recreation services, up 2.0%

Percentage change in payroll jobs, by industry (a) (b)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	-0.1	-0.4	-1.7
Mining	-0.1	-0.2	7.0
Manufacturing	0.0	-0.6	2.5
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	0.1	0.5	9.3
Construction	0.0	-0.2	1.8
Wholesale trade	0.1	0.4	2.6
Retail trade	-0.6	-0.9	1.5
Accommodation and food services	0.0	0.3	-0.5
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.0	0.1	1.7
Information media and telecommunications	-0.5	-0.7	-1.3
Financial and insurance services	-0.6	-0.2	2.2
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.0	0.5	1.0
Professional, scientific and technical services	-0.4	-0.7	0.4
Administrative and support services	-0.5	-0.5	0.4
Public administration and safety	0.3	0.7	5.9
Education and training	1.1	3.8	5.3
Health care and social assistance	0.4	0.9	9.0
Arts and recreation services	0.8	2.0	3.8
Other services	-1.1	-1.2	-0.2
All industries	0.1	0.4	1.5

Some industries experience pronounced seasonality in payroll jobs. For more information, see Seasonality in Data variability and revisions.
Jobs with 'unknown' industry are only included in the calculation of all industry indexes. For more information, see Inclusion of unknown characteristics in How data are processed.

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry (a)
	Month to 18 March 2023 (%)	Month to 16 March 2024 (%)
Other services	0.8	-1.2
Retail trade	-0.1	-0.9
Information media and telecommunications	-0.3	-0.7
Professional, scientific and technical services	0.7	-0.7
Manufacturing	-0.3	-0.6
Administrative and support services	2.8	-0.5
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	0.8	-0.4
Construction	0.0	-0.2
Financial and insurance services	0.0	-0.2
Mining	-0.1	-0.2
Transport, postal and warehousing	0.0	0.1
Accommodation and food services	0.8	0.3
Wholesale trade	0.7	0.4
Electricity, gas, water and waste services	-0.7	0.5
Rental, hiring and real estate services	0.7	0.5
Public administration and safety	0.4	0.7
Health care and social assistance	1.0	0.9
Arts and recreation services	1.9	2.0
Education and training	4.5	3.8

Percentage change in payroll jobs by industry (a)

["","Month to 18 March 2023","Month to 16 March 2024"]

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Industries ranked by percentage change in the latest month.

Industry subdivision

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by industry subdivision are presented as index values in Table 6 of the Data downloads. For more information on the industry classifications used in this release, see the Glossary.

Private sector industry

Time series estimates of payroll jobs by private sector for selected industry divisions are presented as index values in Table 9 of the Data downloads. More information on the sector classification can be found in Updating characteristics variables in How data are processed and the Glossary.

Industry employment guide

To learn more about the different labour measures available, their purpose and how to use them, see our Industry employment guide.

Employment size

The ABS advises caution in using the most recent periods in payroll jobs by employment size indexes, which are subject to higher than usual revisions over a longer period - particularly for small employers. These indexes are more heavily influenced by changes in reporting behaviour and reporting obligations than other indexes, affecting the interpretation of underlying change in labour market conditions. To provide more stability at the end point of these series, a month lag in the reference week is in place.

This release presents percentage change between the weeks ending 17 February 2024 and:

03 February 2024, for fortnight
20 January 2024, for month
18 February 2023, for year

In the month to 17 February 2024, the largest changes in payroll jobs were:

200 employees and over, up 2.4%

Percentage change in payroll jobs by employment size, for the week ending 17 February 2024 (a) (b)
	Fortnight (%)	Month (%)	Year (%)
0-19 employees	0.2	1.1	-15.1
20-199 employees	0.8	2.3	9.4
200 employees and over	1.2	2.4	9.0
All businesses	0.9	2.1	2.2

Records with 'unknown' employment size are only included in the calculation of All businesses indexes. For more information, see Revisions in sub-populations in Data variability and revisions.
The monthly and annual changes should be used with caution given they cross the 'transition point' of the update to employer characteristics. For more information, see the Update of employer characteristics section of the Methodology.

Distribution of characteristics

To aid in the interpretability of payroll job estimates, the following data download contains selected distributions of jobholder and employer characteristics by state and territory.

Records with 'unknown' characteristics have been excluded from the calculation of proportions. For more information on the source, impact and proportion of unknowns, see the Updating characteristic variables and Inclusion of unknown characteristics sections of How data are processed.

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Contains selected distributions of jobholder and employer characteristics.

Data files

Download xlsx [267.69 KB]

Data downloads

The source of employer characteristics - industry, employment size and sector - are periodically updated resulting in revisions to all industry, employment size and sector indexes from the point they are applied. The date at which employer characteristics are updated, called 'transition points', can be visible in the levels of some indexes. Users should always exercise caution when comparing week-on-week changes and index levels across transitions points - the latest being the week ending 30 December 2023. For more information on employer characteristics updates and transition points, see the Update of employer characteristics section of the Methodology.

Due to the rising proportion of unknown sex, indexes of persons aged 15-19 years old by sex have been withdrawn (since the 11 May 2023 release) and appear as NA (not available) in Tables 4 and 8. Users are advised to consider the decline in accuracy when interpreting the indexes of persons aged 20-29 years old by sex due to the increasing proportion of jobholders with an unknown sex in this age group. For more information see the Sex and age group section.

Table 4: Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [3.54 MB]

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Data files

Download xlsx [144.17 KB]

Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Data files

Download xlsx [70.1 KB]

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Data files

Download xlsx [83.61 KB]

Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

Data files

Download xlsx [60.79 KB]

All data cubes

Data files

Download zip [2.58 MB]

Previous articles

Previously published articles and information of interest are linked below:

Characteristics spotlight: 2022 (August 2022)
Characteristics spotlight: 2021 (May 2021)
Seasonality spotlight: 2022 to 2023 year end (April 2023)
Seasonality spotlight: 2021 to 2022 year end (February 2022)
Seasonality spotlight: 2020 to 2021 year end (February 2021)
A year of COVID-19 through payroll jobs and wages statistics (March 2021)
Regional spotlight: New South Wales and Queensland (April 2022)

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 6160.0.55.001.

APA

Citation

Weekly Payroll Jobs

APA

Citation

Key statistics

Factors affecting interpretation

Alternative period comparisons

Revisions

Change periods

National

State and territory

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

Sex and age group

5 year age groups

Industry

Industry subdivision

Private sector industry

Industry employment guide

Employment size

Distribution of characteristics

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs indexes

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

All data cubes

Previous articles

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

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Provide feedback

APA

Weekly Payroll Jobs

APA

Key statistics

Factors affecting interpretation

Alternative period comparisons

Revisions

Change periods

National

State and territory

Monthly percentage change in payroll jobs, by state and territory

Sex and age group

5 year age groups

Industry

Industry subdivision

Private sector industry

Industry employment guide

Employment size

Distribution of characteristics

Table 20: Payroll jobs - characteristics distributions

Data downloads

Table 4: Payroll jobs indexes

Table 6: Industry subdivision - Payroll jobs indexes

Table 7: Employer characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 8: Jobholder characteristics - Payroll jobs index

Table 9: Sector - Payroll jobs index

All data cubes

Previous articles

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Small rise in payroll jobs, boosted by Education jobs

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder