5673.0.55.001 - Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia, 2003-04  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 09/03/2007   
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SOUTH AUSTRALIA


On this page:

Statistical Local Areas With Highest Average Wage and Salary Income
Wage and Salary Earners By Occupation
Wage and Salary Earners By Wage and Salary Income
Wage and Salary Earners By Sex
Wage and Salary Earners By Age
Total Income of Wage and Salary Earners



STATISTICAL LOCAL AREAS WITH HIGHEST AVERAGE WAGE AND SALARY INCOME


Wage and salary earners residing in Roxby Downs (M), a mining area located in northern South Australia, had the highest average income from wages and salaries in South Australia at $52,778 in 2003-04. Roxby Downs (M), with a national ranking of 42nd, was the only Statistical Local Area (SLA) in South Australia to be ranked in the top 50 SLAs across Australia.

Wage and salary earners in Walkerville (M) had the next highest average incomes from wages and salaries, followed by those in Burnside (C) - South-West, Unley (C) - East and Burnside (C) - North-East. These four SLAs are all located in eastern inner Adelaide and had an average wage and salary income ranging from $46,639 in Walkerville (M) to $45,217 in Burnside (C) - North-East. Nationally, the four metropolitan SLAs with the highest average incomes from wages and salaries for South Australia were ranked from 85th to 118th.

MAP 4.1: STATISTICAL LOCAL AREAS WITH THE HIGHEST AVERAGE WAGE AND SALARY INCOME
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04

South Australia - Statistical Local Areas with the highest average wage and salary income.
Source: ATO Income Tax Data


This article focuses on the five Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) in South Australia with the highest average wage and salary incomes that had 100 or more wage and salary earners in 2003-04. To view images of these SLAs via Google Maps Australia please click on the following links: Roxby Downs (M), Walkerville (M), Burnside (C) - South-West, Unley (C) - East and Burnside (C) - North-East.

TABLE 4.1: STATISTICAL LOCAL AREAS WITH THE HIGHEST AVERAGE WAGE AND SALARY INCOME,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04


Wage and salary earners
Wage and salary income
Average wage
and salary income
SLA Name
No.
$
$

Roxby Downs (M)
2,188
115,477,695
52,778
Walkerville (M)
2,647
123,453,245
46,639
Burnside (C) - South-West
7,946
367,518,095
46,252
Unley (C) - East
7,889
360,962,356
45,755
Burnside (C) - North-East
8,334
376,835,822
45,217
South Australia
582,626
20,790,759,016
35,685

Source: ATO Income Tax Data



WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY OCCUPATION


In Roxby Downs (M), the highest proportion of wage and salary earners worked as Tradespersons and related workers, followed by Intermediate production and transport workers, Professionals and Labourers and related workers. In 2003-04, 60% of wage and salary earners in Roxby Downs (M) were employed in one of these occupations, compared to 46% across South Australia. Employment in these occupations is fairly typical of those SLAs across Australia with a focus on the mining industry and a high average income from wages and salaries. Broadsound (S) in Queensland and Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory are examples of SLAs with similar occupation distributions.

The three most common occupations of wage and salary earners in the metropolitan SLAs of Walkerville (M), Burnside (C) - South-West, Unley (C) - East and Burnside (C) - North-East, were Professionals, Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers and Managers and administrators, accounting for over 60% of the wage and salary earners in these SLAs compared to 44% across South Australia.

TABLE 4.2: PROPORTION OF WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY OCCUPATION,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04

Manag-
ers and
admini-
strators
Profess-
ionals
Associ-
ate prof-
ession-
als
Trades-
persons
and related
workers
Advanc-
ed clerical
and service
workers
Interme-
diate clerical,

sales and service
workers
Interme-
diate product-
ion and transport
workers
Element-
ary clerical, sales and service
workers
Labour-
ers and
related
workers
Not stated
SLA Name
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%
%

Roxby Downs (M)
5.9
13.9
10.5
17.5
1.3
10.6
15.4
6.0
13.3
5.7
Walkerville (M)
13.1
32.3
7.6
4.0
2.8
16.5
2.6
7.7
4.1
9.3
Burnside (C) - South-West
14.3
34.2
7.4
3.4
3.1
16.2
1.4
7.2
3.4
9.4
Unley (C) - East
13.7
33.3
7.7
3.9
3.4
16.4
1.7
6.8
3.4
9.6
Burnside (C) - North-East
13.5
33.0
7.4
4.1
3.0
15.9
1.9
7.9
3.5
9.7
South Australia
8.6
17.4
6.4
9.9
2.2
17.7
6.4
9.7
12.4
9.2

Source: ATO Income Tax Data.



WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY WAGE AND SALARY INCOME


Roxby Downs (M) had the highest proportion of wage and salary earners in South Australia earning an income from wages and salaries of $78,000 or more at 23%, well above the South Australian average of 4%. Overall, in Roxby Downs (M), more than half of the wage and salary earner population had an income from wages and salaries of $52,000 or more, compared to 19% across South Australia.

TABLE 4.3: PROPORTION OF WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY WAGE AND SALARY INCOME RANGES,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04


$1 to
less than
$10,400
$10,400 to
less than
$20,800
$20,800 to
less than
$31,200
$31,200 to
less than
$41,600
$41,600 to
less than
$52,000
$52,000 to
less than
$78,000
$78,000 or more
SLA Name
%
%
%
%
%
%
%

Roxby Downs (M)
8.7
9.9
10.3
9.1
9.9
28.8
23.3
Walkerville (M)
11.8
12.7
14.3
16.4
14.9
19.0
10.9
Burnside (C) - South-West
11.4
13.0
14.3
16.1
13.6
19.6
12.1
Unley (C) - East
10.6
12.7
14.7
16.6
13.7
20.1
11.6
Burnside (C) - North-East
11.8
13.1
14.3
16.2
14.2
19.5
11.0
South Australia
11.8
15.4
18.8
20.5
14.6
14.9
3.9

Source: ATO Income Tax Data.



WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY SEX


Similar to other SLAs with a mining focus, Roxby Downs (M) had a much higher proportion of male wage and salary earners than female wage and salary earners, with this likely to reflect the types of employment opportunities available in this region.

As seen in Table 4.2, in Roxby Downs (M), there was a high proportion of employed residents in this region working as Tradespersons and related workers, Intermediate production and transport workers and Labourers and related workers, occupations which are typically male dominated. Of the persons working as Tradespersons and related workers and Intermediate production and transport workers in Roxby Downs, around 90% were male.

GRAPH 4.1: PROPORTION OF WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY SEX,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04
Graph: This graph shows the proportion of wage and salary earners by sex for South Australia
Source: ATO Income Tax Data.



WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY AGE


Nearly 65% of wage and salary earners in Roxby Downs (M) were aged 25 to 44 years in 2003-04, compared to 47% across South Australia. Roxby Downs (M) also had one of the lowest proportions of wage and salary earners aged 55 years and over in Australia, second to Mount Marshall (S) in Western Australia.

In contrast, the metropolitan SLAs with the highest average incomes from wages and salaries tended to have a higher than average proportion of wage and salary earners in the 55 years and over age range, with the proportions of wage and salary earners in this age group ranging from 17% in Burnside (C) - South-West to 13% in Unley (C) - East, compared to the state average of 12%.

TABLE 4.4: PROPORTION OF WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS BY AGE,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04


15-24
years
25-34
years
35-44
years
45-54
years
55 years
and over
SLA Name
%
%
%
%
%

Roxby Downs (M)
16.4
33.2
30.9
15.1
4.3
Walkerville (M)
17.3
21.6
22.3
23.8
15.0
Burnside (C) - South-West
17.4
20.2
20.8
25.2
16.5
Unley (C) - East
16.6
25.6
22.6
22.7
12.5
Burnside (C) - North-East
17.4
20.6
22.1
24.1
15.7
South Australia
19.3
22.9
23.9
22.4
11.5

Source: ATO Income Tax Data.



TOTAL INCOME OF WAGE AND SALARY EARNERS


The total income of wage and salary earners relates to their wage and salary income in addition to any income or loss from sources such as investments, superannuation and annuities, own unincorporated businesses and government cash benefits.

Similar to non-metropolitan SLAs in other states, Roxby Downs (M) had a difference between average total income and average wage and salary income that was less than the South Australian average difference. In contrast, in the metropolitan SLAs, the difference between total income and wage and salary income was above the state average difference.

Roxby Downs (M) exhibits characteristics which are typical of a number of the SLAs with a mining focus with predominantly young, male wage and salary earners with high wage and salary incomes working as tradespersons and related workers, intermediate production and transport workers or labourers and related workers. Other high ranking mining SLAs with similar profiles have also had lower than average income from sources other than wages and salaries.

TABLE 4.5: AVERAGE WAGE AND SALARY INCOME, AVERAGE TOTAL INCOME AND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AVERAGE TOTAL INCOME AND AVERAGE WAGE AND SALARY INCOME,
Selected Statistical Local Areas, South Australia, 2003-04


Average wage and
salary income
Average total
income
Average total income
less Average wage
and salary income
SLA Name
$
$
$

Roxby Downs (M)
52,778
54,636
1,858
Walkerville (M)
46,639
51,119
4,480
Burnside (C) - South-West
46,252
50,626
4,374
Unley (C) - East
45,755
49,389
3,634
Burnside (C) - North-East
45,217
49,525
4,308
South Australia
35,685
37,669
1,984

Source: ATO Income Tax Data



To access wage and salary data for all SLAs in Australia click on the following link to Regional Wage and Salary Earner Statistics, Australia - Data Cubes, 2003-04 (cat. no. 5673.0.55.003).