Additional data has been released on the use of restraint clauses in Australia. This content is published in the article Restraint Clauses, Australia, 2023.
Employee Earnings and Hours, Australia
Latest release
Includes earnings and hours statistics for characteristics such as industry, occupation, sex, age, full-time/part-time, and method of setting pay
Reference period
May 2023
Released
24/01/2024
Key statistics
- Median weekly earnings were $1,300.00 for all employees, $1,509.00 for males and $1,130.00 for females.
- Occupations with the highest hourly earnings were Managers ($67.20) and Professionals ($60.60).
- Individual arrangement was the most common method of setting pay (38.7%), followed by collective agreement (34.0%).
| Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | Number of employees ('000) | Proportion of employees (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time males | 2,074.20 | 4,526.0 | 35.9 |
| Part-time males | 758.70 | 1,596.1 | 12.7 |
| All males | 1,731.20 | 6,122.1 | 48.6 |
| Full-time females | 1,814.90 | 2,884.0 | 22.9 |
| Part-time females | 816.60 | 3,587.1 | 28.5 |
| All females | 1,261.50 | 6,471.0 | 51.4 |
| Full-time persons | 1,973.30 | 7,410.0 | 58.8 |
| Part-time persons | 798.70 | 5,183.2 | 41.2 |
| All persons | 1,489.80 | 12,593.1 | 100.0 |
- May not sum to totals due to rounding
Available populations
Gender pay gap guide
Industry
| Average weekly total hours paid for (hours) | Average hourly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Mining | 42.5 | 69.10 |
| Manufacturing | 37.5 | 40.80 |
| Electricity, gas, water and waste services | 39.2 | 57.30 |
| Construction | 38.4 | 45.00 |
| Wholesale trade | 35.5 | 42.50 |
| Retail trade | 25.3 | 31.40 |
| Accommodation and food services | 22.8 | 29.10 |
| Transport, postal and warehousing | 37.9 | 43.80 |
| Information media and telecommunications | 34.9 | 56.60 |
| Finance and insurance services | 34.7 | 51.50 |
| Rental, hiring and real estate services | 34.5 | 41.00 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 33.9 | 53.00 |
| Administrative and support services | 30.5 | 40.40 |
| Public administration and safety | 34.6 | 50.20 |
| Education and training | 27.0 | 51.60 |
| Health care and social assistance | 27.9 | 47.20 |
| Arts and recreation services | 23.9 | 37.60 |
| Other services | 29.8 | 35.10 |
| All industries | 31.0 | 44.00 |
State
Sector
Occupation
| Number of employees ('000) | Average weekly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 1,068.0 | 2,712.40 |
| Professionals | 3,030.0 | 1,954.00 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 1,451.1 | 1,614.20 |
| Community and personal service workers | 1,763.6 | 953.10 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 1,900.9 | 1,238.90 |
| Sales workers | 1,390.3 | 785.40 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 724.1 | 1,631.00 |
| Labourers | 1,265.0 | 1,022.00 |
| All occupations | 12,593.1 | 1,489.80 |
| Average weekly total hours paid for (hours) | Average hourly total cash earnings ($) | |
|---|---|---|
| Managers | 36.8 | 67.20 |
| Professionals | 32.2 | 60.60 |
| Technicians and trades workers | 37.7 | 42.00 |
| Community and personal service workers | 25.0 | 36.80 |
| Clerical and administrative workers | 31.3 | 39.00 |
| Sales workers | 23.8 | 30.90 |
| Machinery operators and drivers | 39.4 | 40.30 |
| Labourers | 29.8 | 32.20 |
| All occupations | 31.0 | 44.00 |
Method of setting pay
(a) Data for 2016 is based on indicative comparable estimate proportions. For further information, see Appendix 1 in the 2018 Feature Article.
Data downloads
Data cube 1. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average age - rate of pay and age category: by employment status by sex, type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 2. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average age - method of setting pay: by employment status by sex, type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 3. All employees
Distribution, deciles and quartiles of weekly total cash earnings - age category, method of setting pay, employment status, type of employee, occupation by sex, industry, sector, states and territories
Data files
Data cube 4. Non-managerial employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - rate of pay and age category: by employment status by sex, type of employee and status by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 5. Non-managerial employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by employment status by sex, type of employee and status by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 6. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - age category: by type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 7. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings, average weekly total hours paid for, average hourly total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by type of employee by sex, occupation, industry, states and territories, sector, employer size
Data files
Data cube 8. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Distribution, deciles and quartiles of weekly total cash earnings - age category, method of setting pay, type of employee, occupation by sex, industry, sector, states and territories
Data files
Data cube 9. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by age category
Data files
Data cube 10. All employees
Number of employees, average weekly total cash earnings - rate of pay: by age category
Data files
Data cube 11. All employees
Average weekly total cash earnings, average age - sex: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 4 digit)
Data files
Data cube 12. All employees
Average weekly total cash earnings, average age - method of setting pay: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 4 digit)
Data files
Data cube 13. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - sex: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 3 digit)
Data files
Data cube 14. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - method of setting pay: by detailed occupation (ANZSCO 3 digit)
Data files
Data cube 15. Full-time non-managerial employees paid at the adult rate
Average weekly ordinary time and total cash earnings, average weekly ordinary time and total hours paid for, average hourly ordinary time and total cash earnings - sex: by industry sub-division (ANZSIC 2 digit)
Data files
All data cubes
Data files
Restraint clauses
Given the increasing interest in understanding employment conditions and arrangements in Australia, the ABS has produced new experimental data on the use of restraint clauses in employment contracts. It can be found in Restraint Clauses, Australia, 2023.
Information was collected from employers on their use of restraint clauses relating to Non-disclosure, Non-compete, Non-solicitation of clients, and Non-solicitation of co-workers. This was collected through a short follow-up survey of employers responding to the 2023 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours.
In 2023, 46.9% of Australian businesses reported that they had used at least one type of restraint clause.
Non-disclosure clauses were the most common type of restraint clause, used by 45.3% of employers, followed by:
- Non-solicitation of clients (25.4%)
- Non-compete (20.8%)
- Non-solicitation of co-workers (18.0%)
Post release changes
21/02/2024
Distributional, decile and quartile data for States and territories added to Employee Earnings and Hours data cubes 3 and 8. See Data downloads section.
Data on restraint clauses added. This information was collected through the Short Survey of Employment Conditions, a follow-up survey of employers responding to the 2023 Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours.
Previous catalogue number
This release previously used catalogue number 6306.0.