Payroll jobs increase by 0.8 per cent over March
Payroll jobs rose by 0.8 per cent in the month to 27 March 2021, rising 0.1 per cent in the last fortnight, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: “The pace of growth in payroll jobs across March was similar to what we saw in early March 2020, in the weeks before the major COVID-19 restrictions came into effect.”
Payroll jobs held by women continued to show stronger recovery than those held by men.
“In the early weeks of restrictions, women were more impacted by payroll job losses than men. While the recovery in payroll jobs worked by both men and women was similar across much of 2020, the recovery in payroll jobs held by women surpassed that of men by late October,” Mr Jarvis said.
“By 27 March 2021 payroll jobs held by women were 0.8 per cent above mid-March 2020, compared to 1.0 per cent below for men.”
Payroll jobs in the Accommodation and food services industry continue to be the most impacted by 27 March 2021, remaining 9.5 per cent below mid-March 2020.
More than three quarters (76 per cent) of payroll jobs in this industry are currently held by people aged under 40. Within this age group, payroll jobs recovery was weakest for people aged 20-29, with less than three quarters (72 per cent) of payroll jobs lost at mid-April 2020 regained by 27 March 2021.
The ABS acknowledges the continued support from the Australian Taxation Office in enabling the ABS to produce the statistics, providing weekly insights into the Australian labour market.
Media notes
- Payroll jobs are not seasonally adjusted, which generally require at least three years of data. The seasonal changes accounted for in the longstanding Labour Force statistics series should be considered when interpreting recovery in employment statistics through the COVID period.
- In each release, as more complete data are received, payroll jobs and wages estimates are revised.
- While the ABS accounts for employees being paid with different frequencies, there are points in the year when additional reporting activity is more likely to occur, which may flow through to published estimates.
- Estimates of payroll jobs by sub-state regions through to the week ending 27 March 2021, will be added to this release on Wednesday 14 April 2021.
- An interactive map examining change in payroll jobs in SA4 and SA3 regions will be updated in this release on Friday 16 April 2021.
- When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.
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