FEBRUARY KEY FIGURES

		Feb 2008	Nov 2007 to Feb 2008	Feb 2007 to Feb 2008
		$	% change	% change
Trend Estimates
Private & public sectors
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 123.30	0.9	4.5
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 173.50	1.0	4.7
	All employees total earnings	885.40	0.6	3.3
Private sector
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 097.60	1.0	5.0
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 150.50	1.1	5.3
Public sector
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 214.70	0.8	2.9
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 255.40	0.7	2.8
Seasonally Adjusted Estimates
Private & public sectors
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 124.00	1.1	4.8
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 174.10	1.2	4.9
	All employees total earnings	885.10	0.6	3.2
Private sector
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 098.20	1.2	5.3
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 151.60	1.4	5.6
Public sector
	Full-time adult ordinary time earnings	1 215.20	0.7	2.8
	Full-time adult total earnings	1 254.80	0.4	2.7

Full-time adult total earnings, Quarterly % change in trend estimates - All Sectors

Full-time adult total earnings, Quarterly % change in trend estimates - Private and Public (a)

FEBRUARY KEY POINTS


TREND ESTIMATES

• Full-time adult ordinary time earnings rose by 4.3% for males and 5.0% for females in the twelve months to February 2008.
• In the twelve months to February 2008, full-time adult total earnings rose by 4.4% for males and 5.2% for females.

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
May 2008	14 August 2008
August 2008	13 November 2008

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

The ABS has implemented an improved method of producing seasonally adjusted estimates for the Average Weekly Earnings survey (AWE), through the application of Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) modelling techniques. AWE now uses concurrent seasonal adjustment with ARIMA modelling, which reduces the level of revisions to seasonally adjusted and trend estimates when subsequent data become available. See paragraph 30 of the Explanatory Notes for more information on the ARIMA modelling technique.


NOTES ON ESTIMATES

COMPOSITIONAL EFFECTS

Movements in average weekly earnings can be affected by both changes in the level of earnings per employee and changes in the composition of the labour force. For example, changes in the proportions of full-time, part-time, casual and junior employees and variations in the distribution of occupations can affect movements in earnings series. Refer to paragraphs 19 and 20 of the Explanatory Notes.


SAMPLING ERROR

For information on sampling error see the Technical Note at the end of this publication. Standard errors for the original estimates contained in this publication are in tables 18 to 20.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Kevin Bolt on Perth (08) 9360 5304.